We believe in the positive impact that dance has physically, mentally and socially on all people…
Our new dance with Parkinson’s class has started in Coventry, it has been in the pipeline for us for a few years… 2024 is the year that we have finally made it happen!
In the Summer 2023 we completed our training through the People Dancing & Dance for PD® Dance for Parkinson’s online learning course as Off-Balance Dance and began to discuss the development of a class in Coventry through a partnership with the national Live Well & Dance with Parkinson’s programme at People Dancing. We were excited that we could make plans to get the class started in the city where we work across many communities.
We wanted to put the class in a central place in Coventry that had a great atmosphere and accessible facilities. The well-known Albany Theatre in Coventry was the perfect place to house our class.
We’ve had four sessions so far and the class has grown steadily each week, knowledge of the class seems to be spreading by word of mouth and friends are signposting one other.
We have had interest from BBC Coventry and Warwickshire radio station, who we hope will support us in spreading the word across the city, bringing people to the session and growing the class.
Most people return each week, but some haven’t. This is definitely okay as we realise that this class is not for everyone, but we are grateful that people give it a try and for the ones who keep coming, they get so much out of it.
One participant was asked how she felt at the end of a class, and she replied, ‘I feel liberated’. There isn’t much more we can ask for than this as leaders of the group.
We have realised that the symptoms of Parkinson’s are varied, and the diversity and experience of our participants is clear to see. Their lived experience is how we are constantly learning in the planning and pacing of the class. Our participant’s energy feeds the group, and we respond to this as dance teaching artists.
Alexis and I are so lucky to deliver this class together, the trust that we have in each other and have built over many years of working together hopefully feeds into the class.
Weekly reflections are essential. What did we notice, what worked well, what could we change or do differently next week?
Over the four classes, we’ve already experienced such joy and playfulness during the class. We’ve noticed that keeping the pace steady and slow is the most beneficial for all. However, we need to allow space for freedom and as the confidence of the participants grows, we need to keep awareness of that. Making small tweaks each week to our movement phrases has been successful in keeping everyone challenged, focused, and progressing.
We have found that props have been a valuable tool, and we will continue rooting through our prop drawer for more creative inspiration! Scarves have elongated the movement of our dancers and have enabled them to play with dynamic energy. From soft, gentle, and floaty to punchy.
Our umbrellas gave the dancers purpose, something to hang on to and use for balance and stability and have allowed freedom of movement, especially as we swayed from side to side. It is also something familiar and practical.
We are grateful to be learning with and alongside our participants. It seems like Alexis and I both really ‘tune in’ during the class. By watching, listening, and feeling in the class, we are learning more and more about our participants and how we teach the class.
Our participants are our teachers as well and it is a beautiful process to be part of.
This is a unique type of class to plan for. Often, we are reaching people who want to dance or have an interest in exploring or expressing their creativity. However, this is a class primarily for people who have a Parkinson’s diagnosis. Research supports that dance has a positive impact on participants living with Parkinson’s but as deliverers we need to take into consideration the reason for people taking the class (there may be many different reasons). Our hope is to keep the class as accessible and fun as possible whilst also honouring our artistic integrity and creativity.
Lastly, Alexis and I are so grateful and lucky that we get to deliver this class together because we are both at a stage in our lives and careers that all our experience, knowledge and understanding as teachers seems to be paying off.
There is this natural flow and ease between us when we are co-teaching the class, but, at the same time, we are still learning from each other and from the participants during each class that we teach.
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