Dance for PD®

Providing free movement classes for people affected by Parkinson’s disease

Dance for PD® originated as a collaboration between the Mark Morris Dance Group and the Brooklyn Parkinson Group, a chapter of the National Parkinson Foundation. The Dance for PD® teaching method is built on one fundamental premise: professionally-trained dancers are movement experts whose knowledge is useful to persons with PD. Dancers know all about stretching and strengthening muscles, and about balance and rhythm. Most importantly, dancers know how to use their thoughts, imagination, eyes, ears, and touch to control their movements. While dancing, whether in chairs, at a barre, or standing, everyone in the class explores comfortable dance movements in an enjoyable, non-pressured, social environment in which live music energizes, enriches, and empowers.

These classes are appropriate for anyone with Parkinson’s disease, no matter how advanced. No dance experience is required, and all classes include live musical accompaniment. The classes combine elements of modern dance, ballet, tap, social dancing, Mark Morris’ choreography, and other repertoire to create an enjoyable, stimulating, and artistic experience for people with PD. The method has been presented at the International Congress for Parkinson’s™ in Berlin (2005) and the World Parkinson Congress in Washington, D.C. (2006). Articles about the class have appeared in Neurology Now among other publications.

Schedule:

Live classes resume Monday, August 16, 2021 and continue weekly thereafter:

• In-Studio: Mondays, 12:30pm–1:45pm (BBT Studio 3: 1370 Tenth Street, Berkeley)

• To register, call Susan Weber, Program Director, at 925-457-8170.

Contact: For more information, or to register, please contact Susan Weber, Dance for PD® Program Director at susanw@berkeleyballet.org or  (925) 457-8170.

An Introduction to DANCE FOR PD

Dance for PD, a short film by Becca Duncan, 2023:

Director & Founding Teacher

Susan Weber, Director, was the first teaching artist in California to earn Dance for PD® certification. She danced professionally with the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, assisted Mark Morris on several projects at San Francisco Ballet, and is a member of Berkeley Ballet Theater’s ballet faculty. Susan graduated with honors and earned an MA in Dance at UCLA.

Faculty

Erin Carper trained at The Washington School of Ballet and performed professionally with Ballet Met, Charleston Ballet Theater, Ballet Chicago, Deborah Slater Dance Theater and Kunst-stoff. Erin holds a BA in Liberal Arts and Performance through the SMC’s LEAP Program. Passionate about connecting people with the healing power of nature, Erin also practices somatic ecotherapy as a Wilderness Rites of Passage Guide.

Brigid Hoag danced professionally with ballet, modern, and contemporary companies and choreographers in the U.S. and Canada. In New York City she was a member of the Peridance Ensemble, and in San Francisco performed with SFOpera. She is currently on the faculty at Marin Dance Theatre in San Rafael where she teaches in both the ballet and Parkinson's Dance Project divisions.

FOUNDING TEACHERS

Megan Low danced professionally at San Francisco Ballet where she performed the title role in Mark Morris’ full-length “Sylvia.” She earned her B.A. at St. Mary’s College and her Master’s in Education at UC Berkeley.

Kate Mitchell is a director, choreographer, sculptural couture artist, collagist, and the author of Fashioning Women. She holds a BA in American Studies from Yale University and an MA in Dance from UCLA.

Accompanists

Gerry Grosz

Chris Houston

Want to learn more?

• Why Dance for PD?

• Managing Parkinson's with the Mind of a Dancer

• Dance for PD: A Leap of Progress for Parkinson's Patients (NY State Council on the Arts)

• Profile: David Leventhal at Mark Morris Dance Center in Brooklyn, NY (01/2022)

• Profile: Joyful Moves to Counter Parkinson's: David Leventhal (04/2023)

rewilding

Having won the 2023 Lucy Bowen Award for Inclusive Choreography, BBT Artistic Director Robin Dekkers created rewilding, a film featuring dancers from Berkeley Ballet Theater's dance for PD® Program. This playlist also includes several short “making of” films by Zil Inami: