Dance for PD®
Hawai’i Dance for Parkinson’s is a dance class specifically designed for people afflicted with Parkinson’s Disease, a neurological movement disorder, but is inclusive in that it provides a great workout for the body and mind for all ages, all levels, in short: for the whole ohana to participate. No prior dance experience is necessary.
The program’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 and social dancing, and choreographic repertory to engage participants’ minds and bodies and create an enjoyable, social environment for artistic exploration. These inspiring classes are ways of bringing back the joy of moving, and hopefully building new or alternative neurological pathways for body movement.
Currently classes are offered virtually through the kind support of Zoom account from Hawaii Parkinson’s Association, on Mondays and Fridays at 9:30 am ( 2 afternoon classes will be added soon.) These are donation based classes.
TO REGISTER, or for more information, please contact Marie Snyder.
About Marie Snyder
Marie has been the only official trained Dance for PD® instructor in the State of Hawaii and has taught classes in the Big Island and in Oahu. She is also the founder and artistic director of Zouk hi, Tangerine Dance Collective, NY Times acclaimed dancer and choreographer, international scholar, educator and published author. She earned her BFA and MFA in Dance at New York University and her Doctorate in Education at Columbia University. After training with the Dance for PD program in 2011, with a grant from the Parkinson Alliance she spearheaded dance classes for people with Parkinson’s in Princeton, New Jersey. In 2012 as well as in 2018 and 2019, Marie was invited to teach at the Asian Hospital and Medical Center in the Philippines to teach a full class for their Parkinson’s support group and the Special symposium for PD caregivers. She is a Dance for PD® Wertheimer Fellow and recipient of 2020 Achievement Award from Hawaii Parkinson’s Association.
Dance for PD® has affiliates in over 300 communities in 25 countries.
Learn more about this fantastic organization at www.danceforparkinsons.org.
David Leventhal is a founding teacher and Program Director for Dance for PD®. In this Living Well Challenge™ webisode, Leventhal discusses the benefits of Managing Parkinson’s with the Mind of a Dancer and invites viewers to experience the liberation and attitude shift that coincides with shedding the label “Person with Parkinson’s” and adopting the new identity of “dancer.” He further details how thinking and moving like a dancer logically applies to many aspects of living with Parkinson’s.