About Dance for PD^® workshops and seminars

Since 2007, more than 2,000 people from 30 countries have participated in Dance for PD® (Parkinson's Disease) workshops and seminars, designed and produced by the Mark Morris Dance Group.

Our educational programs are designed to enrich, inform and inspire a diverse group of individuals who want to learn about the unique approach of this internationally acclaimed community arts & health program from its original creators. To learn more about our complete four-step training program, including the pre-requisite online course, please click here.

This workshop

Our Kennedy Center workshop, the first in-person training workshop in two years, is designed primarily to help dance teachers adapt your 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.

Although this workshop is specifically geared toward dance teachers, we welcome a diverse group of individuals—Physical and Occupational Therapists, movement educators and fitness instructors—who may be interested in the workshop for Educational & Professional Enrichment (EPE). In this workshop, you will participate in all group discussions and modules, while observing and helping to coach the teaching practicum on Day 2. 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.

Our introductory workshops are non-certifying. Attendance at one of our introductory workshops is a prerequisite to qualify for our Dance Teacher certification program or Registered Teaching Assistant program. You will be required to complete an introductory online course in order to attend this in-person workshop.

Facilitators:
David Leventhal, Dance for PD founding teacher and Program Director

Lucy Bowen McCauley, Certified Dance for PD teaching artist and founder, Bowen McCauley Dance Company

Maria Portman Kelly, Dance for PD Programs and Engagement Manager

Schedule: Sunday, April 10 and Monday, April 11, 2022 from 9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Location:
The REACH at The Kennedy Center, 2700 F St NW, Washington, DC 20566

Highlights: Comprehensive training modules, interactive teaching practicum, demo class, safety best practices, networking.

Credits: Earn up to 30 training credits toward the 50 credits required to be eligible for Dance for PD certification.

COVID-19 safety: All workshop participants must abide by the terms of the Kennedy Center's COVID Safety Plan. This plan may change without notice, and additional requirements may be established. Please keep in mind that the workshop will include members of our community who may be more vulnerable to the serious effects of COVID. Full vaccination with a booster and a high-quality K95 or equivalent mask will help ensure a safer environment for all to learn and dance.

Accommodations: Please click here for a map of local accommodations.

Standard rate: $399
Dance for PD Member rate: $369

Tuition includes a one-year Dance for PD® program membership with special access to continuing education materials and tools (a $100 value), complimentary lifetime access to five volumes of instructional media (Video on Demand), free downloads of Dance for PD music albums, and access to our international online teachers' forum. Financial aid is available to qualified teaching artists from the DC area.

Note about online course
Please note that workshop tuition does not include the pre-requisite online course ($75-$85), which must be completed before the workshop. The self-directed, interactive online course takes around 8-10 hours and can be done over several weeks. You'll receive details about the online course when you apply for this workshop.

No payment is required to apply. Please click below to complete our application. We will notify you upon acceptance into the training program. At that point, we will let you know about accessing the online course and provide more information about workshop registration.

"Extremely well coordinated, very respectful and appropriate content for a broad range of learners!"
—Workshop attendee

"This workshop was completely satisfying, both on personal and professional levels. I thoroughly enjoyed each day's activities and the way in which [the trainer] conducted the discussions and experientials. His teaching ability is outstanding, along with his understanding of group process...I feel uplifted and inspired by all I witnessed..."
—Trainee

"My staff reported to me that this was the only training they had ever received in movement/exercise other than cursory information during nursing assistant or nursing training. They were so excited to start using the tools immediately and have other staff to partner with for spontaneous play with each other and the residents."
—Workshop attendee and assisted living facility senior manager

"I learned more than I could have ever imagined and I love to dance more than I ever imagined. I have already utilized some of your ideas into my treatment approaches with my patients and they have worked GREAT!"—Participant and doctor of physical therapy

The Mark Morris Dance Group's Dance for PD® program invites people with Parkinson's and their families in more than 300 communities and 30 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 classes, acclaimed teacher training program, and high quality media resources, Dance for PD​'s fundamental working principle since 2001 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 45 published studies suggests that the Dance for PD approach provides a range of benefits, including improved walking and short-term mobility, enhanced quality of life, and self-efficacy, slowing of symptom progression, and improvements in mood and social inclusion among people with Parkinson's. More at www.danceforpd.org.