About our online workshops

Our introductory workshops, whether offered in person or online, are specially designed to help trained dancers and dance instructors adapt their expertise to work effectively and comfortably with the Parkinson’s population under the guidelines and methodology of the Dance for PD® program. You'll cover special modules that focus on class structure, pedagogy and exercise design, and participate in a practicum class to develop class content and teaching techniques with founding teachers and other trainees, in addition to covering general modules about safety and working with Parkinson’s participants. Online workshops include a special module on remote teaching. Download our complete training guide here for more information.

Although these workshops are specifically geared toward dance teachers, we welcome a diverse group of individuals who may be interested in the workshop for Educational & Professional Enrichment (EPE). The EPE program is designed to provide a comprehensive and intimate look at core components of the Dance for PD® program so that a wide variety of individuals without dance training or dance teaching experience can learn about our methods and benefit from our resources.

Prerequisites

All trainees must satisfactorily complete an asynchronous 8-module online training program before attending the live synchronous online workshop. The cost of this 8-module course is $85 ($75 for members). It is expected that the self-directed course and assessment will take 8-10 hours to complete. You'll receive a link to this course when we approve your training application.

Online training sessions will take place July 15-18 from 9 AM - 1 PM Seoul time via Zoom.

Workshop facilitators and trainers:

David Leventhal, Dance for PD Program Director and founding teacher

Maria Portman Kelly, Dance for PD Programs and Engagement Manager

Learn more about David and Maria here.

Feedback from our online workshops

I was worried about the online format of the workshop, but other than occasional eye fatigue, it definitely met and exceeded my expectations. It was still very interactive and collaborative, allowed adequate time for discussion/questions and provided a solid base of knowledge for the Dance for PD technique. It was awesome to meet and greet with the dancers [with Parkinson's] and see how much they love the Dance for PD program.
May workshop participant

I think the zoom workshop was a fantastic experience, especially knowing it was the first of its kind.
May workshop participant

I found this to be a deeply inspiring experience. I was also delighted by how much of the training is applicable to teaching dance to anyone. I also became much more comfortable as both a student and a teacher on Zoom.
May workshop participant

I am amazed and appreciative of the wealth of resources you provide.
May workshop participant

You have put together a very well-coordinated engaging and informative online program that flows seamlessly! Not an easy task!
May workshop participant

This has been a tremendous weekend. Your training videos are wonderful. Watching each other as we are learning is almost more revealing. Thank you is not enough to express my feelings.
May workshop participant

Thank you for such an enriching experience. I very much enjoyed the program and thought that it was so well done via zoom.
August workshop participant

I was understandably wary of doing this training online, but decided to go for it for time's sake with our current uncertain global situation. And I am so thankful I did. David and Marie and Janelle made this workshop engaging and interactive. It was so easy to ask questions and make comments. Having all the class videos on one webpage so we could just flip back and forth from Zoom was so simple.
August workshop participant

The workshop was such an amazing experience, and I was thoroughly impressed by how collaborative and interactive it was despite the online format!
August workshop participant

About Dance for PD®

The Mark Morris Dance Group's Dance for PD® program invites people with Parkinson's and their families in more than 300 communities and 25 countries around the globe to experience the joys and benefits of dance while creatively addressing symptom-specific concerns related to balance, cognition, motor skill, depression and physical confidence. Through its innovative, internationally-replicated in-person and online classes, acclaimed teacher training program, and high quality media resources, Dance for PD​'s fundamental working principle is that professionally-trained dancers are movement experts whose knowledge about balance, sequencing, rhythm and aesthetic awareness is useful to persons with PD. In class, teaching artists integrate movement from modern, ballet, tap, folk and social dancing, and choreographic repertory to engage participants' minds and bodies and create an enjoyable, social environment for artistic exploration.​​ Dance for PD has been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, Dance Magazine, The Guardian and hundreds of other publications,​and has been honored by several local, national and international awards, including the Parkinson Awareness Award, Alan Bonander Humanitarian Award, and the Sapolin Public Service Award from the New York City Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities. Peer-reviewed research from the United States, United Kingdom, Japan and Germany suggests that dance provides a range of benefits, including improved walking and short-term mobility, enhanced quality of life and self-efficacy, and improvements in mood and social inclusion among people with Parkinson's. Dance for PD, which began in 2001 as a collaboration between MMDG and Brooklyn Parkinson Group, leverages technology—live streaming, a popular instructional At Home DVD series, and an experimental App for Google Glass—to make the program more available to its diverse and expanding network of constituents around the globe. Evidence from 41 peer-reviewed scientific studies serves to underpin the effectiveness and benefits of the Dance for PD teaching practice.