UF to host Mark Morris Dance Group’s Parkinson’s disease dance workshop

May 25, 2011

GAINESVILLE, Fla — The University of Florida Center for Arts in Healthcare and School of Theatre and Dance will host a special Dance for PD training workshop, designed and developed by the Mark Morris Dance Group and Brooklyn Parkinson Group, for dance teachers and movement practitioners.

The workshop will take place June 3-5. As part of the workshop, people with Parkinson’s disease, their caregivers, partners and friends will get a chance to participate in a specialized Dance for PD class with David Leventhal and Misty Owens, two of the program’s founding teachers, from 2 to 3:15 p.m. June 5 at the University of Florida’s McGuire Pavilion, 687 McCarty Drive.

The three-day program is designed to help dance teachers adapt what they already know so that they can work effectively and comfortably with the Parkinson’s population, replicating a class model that started at the Mark Morris Dance Group in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The workshop will also expose other movement practitioners to best practices so that they might incorporate components of the program into their own work.

Through specially designed modules, trainees will cover topics including safety and good exercise design and will learn about the program’s philosophy and teaching approaches from the program’s founders. Participants will observe a demo class, talk with members of the local Parkinson’s community, and connect with other teachers interested in this work.

The workshop is open to dance and yoga teachers, physical and occupational therapists, Parkinson’s disease and arts organization administrators, physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals, and caregivers who dance.

“We are so honored and thrilled to have the Mark Morris Dance Group bring their Dance for PD training to the University of Florida. They are the leaders in this work, and it is exciting to be able to train more dancers in Florida to be able to work with people with Parkinson’s disease. Our Dance for Life program here at UF has changed the lives of numerous people with Parkinson’s disease in our community, and we are excited to be able to provide a way for more programs to get started in other communities,” said Jill Sonke, director, UF Center for Arts in Healthcare.

The Dance for Life program provides therapeutic and recreational movement opportunities for people with a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, as well as their significant others.

Workshop trainees will participate in the master class and have a chance to speak with Parkinson’s participants following the event. Understanding participants’ impressions and experiences in the class is an essential part of the training program.

To register for the class, interested participants should call 352-273-1488 or e-mail jsonke@arts.ufl.edu. Preregistration is required.