Something about dancing to music seems to temporarily alleviate the motor problems that affect people with Parkinson’s disease, explains Judith Mackrell.
Dance is having a moment that’s not about knuckle-headed judging on Strictly, star ballerinas or a cool new choreographer, but about the fascinatingly therapeutic uses to which the art form is increasingly being put. Dancers are being used in the training of doctors, helping them develop skills of empathy and communication, but dance is also being utilised to engage more directly with the patients themselves.
A new film, Capturing Grace, spotlights the work being done at the Mark Morris Dance Center (MMDG) in Brooklyn. Dance for Parkinson’s Disease is a project that started in 2001 when Olie Westheimer, director of the Brooklyn Parkinson Group (BPG), approached Morris about the possibility of the centre leading a programme of serious, rigorous, dance classes for members of her group... Keep reading on The Guardian
Dance is having a moment that’s not about knuckle-headed judging on Strictly, star ballerinas or a cool new choreographer, but about the fascinatingly therapeutic uses to which the art form is increasingly being put. Dancers are being used in the training of doctors, helping them develop skills of empathy and communication, but dance is also being utilised to engage more directly with the patients themselves.
A new film, Capturing Grace, spotlights the work being done at the Mark Morris Dance Center (MMDG) in Brooklyn. Dance for Parkinson’s Disease is a project that started in 2001 when Olie Westheimer, director of the Brooklyn Parkinson Group (BPG), approached Morris about the possibility of the centre leading a programme of serious, rigorous, dance classes for members of her group... Keep reading on The Guardian