Finding more than an odd bop...
Michael Summerhill (person living with Parkinson's) and Pauline Summerhill (Carer and person living with the person living with Parkinson's) reflect upon their shared experience of coming out of their comfort zone and finding stimulation and excitement.
We took part in the Live Well and Dance with Parkinson’s Collective at The Sill as part of Hadrian’s wall 1900th birthday celebrations. This involved a 12-week development period supported by specialist dance practitioners.
Initially this was a fairly daunting prospect for both of us and was outside our comfort zone. Neither of us had much previous dance experience other than the odd bop on the night club dance floor in our distant youth and we certainly weren’t used to public performances. However, we had been attending the ‘Get Moving’ class with Molly Grey and recognised the physical, mental and social benefits of dance. Therefore, we decided to give the Roman Wall project a try.
The weekly sessions, which were led by specialist dancers, proved to be stimulating and exciting. Through their excellent example and guidance, focusing on the strength and fragility of the Roman wall, we were each able to create our own movements whilst also trying out moves from the rest of the group, thereby building up a repertoire of movement experiences. Culminating in a final project which encompassed individual, small group and whole group elements – ‘Vallum Hadriani’.
The process proved to be beneficial to both the person living with Parkinsons’ and also the carer. It provided a social connection with like people in a non-formal or medical setting, facilitating opportunities to chat and discuss aspects of living with PD. Physical symptoms were alleviated through increased activity, enabling better relaxation which in turn led to a reduction in aches and pains. Mental well being was improved as anxiety levels were reduced by having fun.
Overall, the experience was highly beneficial to both of us. Through positive, purposeful social interaction which was physical, creative and fun. We had a great sense of achievement and were proud of ourselves!
Image credit: Alice Elizabeth Photography.
They came. They saw. They Conquered.
Lynn Telford shares her experience of dancing with her husband, Rick, together with landscapes, other people, history and Parkinson's.
Rick had an idea.
He wanted to dance on Hadrian’s Wall on Midsummer’s Eve. He could have just gone and danced! No one would have stopped him. No one needed to know. But that wasn’t what was in his head. My husband is a Person with Parkinson’s. When he wants to do something, he behaves like a dog with a bone. He thought this could be something bigger. Dancing at an iconic landmark in the Northumberland National Park. A spectacle; People with Parkinson’s and their partners, friends and families. Just because you are living with a condition like Parkinson’s, it doesn’t mean you can’t dream big.
Vallum Hadriani was born following communication with People Dancing and Dance for Parkinson’s.
Rick continued to push the idea whilst acting as a Trailblazer for the Live Well and Dance with Parkinson’s Programme. Yaël, the programme director was keen.
Roll on a year or so later, following the appointment of Lissie Connor as Creative Co-ordinator for the North East LWADWP, the proposal was submitted as part of the Hadrian’s Wall 1900 Festival. Pelican Theatre were given the brief to choreograph a performance.
We really enjoyed the process of working with the dance professionals. Molly Grey, supported by Olivia Paddison, led familiar warm ups, prior to Pagan and Ellie from Pelican nurturing the group to develop their ideas. We were guided through various ideas and encouraged to move in improvised or intuitive movements, whilst responding to vocal cues and the ambient accompanying music. A really brilliant way for non-professional dancers to develop what would become a cohesive sequence of movements, a collective dance, concluding in a promenade performance at the Sill. With eyes closed we engaged with the elements in this iconic landscape. Imagining feeling the wind whistling through our fingers. Moving our hands over the stones, now covered in soft moss and brittle lichen, caressing the nooks and crannies of the decaying wall. We explored the strength of the wall in its heyday, and the fragility of the stone wall, now it has weathered, for nearly two millennia since its foundations were built. A monument to the legions of soldiers who came from remote parts of the Roman Empire and the local people who lived in its shadow.
Strength versus fragility. The Wall. People ageing. People living with a condition like Parkinson’s or MS. The body’s fight to remain healthy in the face of an advancing enemy, like Rome coming to the edges of Northumbria.
Stand tall, remain positive. Choose movements that combine in a rhythm of strength and power. Contrast sharp movements with sequences of fluidity, emulating the winds. Be still, calm, show softness, punctuate the sequence with a moment for reflection.
Now dancers! Trios moving in unison, sometimes in cannon, to tell our versions of the story. Humans labouring in the hostile environment, then, sudden attack! Look to the east, look to the west, stretch and lift. Hand movements mimic the wind, the wall itself, its battlements before exploding into another theme.
On the roof of the Sill, the three sections of the promenade joining together to celebrate the joy of the landscape, its histories, its peoples. Once strangers, now friends.
People dancing together with a shared purpose.
We loved it!
Images credit: Yaël Owen-Mckenna