Dance for PD®（Mark Morris Dance Group, US）

07 Nov

Dance for PD®（Mark Morris Dance Group, US）

Dance for PD®

Mark Morris Dance Group

Dance for PD® Introductory Teacher Training

Dance for PD® Continuing Professional Development

About the program

The Mark Morris Dance Group’s Dance for PD® program invites people with Parkinson’s and their families in more than 400 communities and 38 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 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, improvisation, and social dancing, as well as choreographic repertory, to engage participants’ minds and bodies and create an enjoyable, social environment for artistic exploration.

Evidence from 50 peer-reviewed scientific studies, and 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 and serves to underpin the effectiveness and benefits of the Dance for PD teaching practice.

Dance for PD®’s innovative five-step training program – offered online and in-person – invites teaching artists, therapists, care partners and people living with Parkinson’s to learn through proven online courses, interactive experiences, and immersive resources. Our training consists of comprehensive introductory training courses and workshops, professional development workshops, and a full certification process. Since 2007, we’ve trained more than 2,500 people from 38 countries.