Make your tax-deductible gift by December 31

This month, please consider a year-end gift of $60, $120 or $300 to support Dance for PD's robust New York City programming. When you make a donation, become a member, or include Dance for PD in your planned giving, your contribution makes a real difference in the lives of people with PD, their care partners, and loved ones. For 23 years, support from community members like you has helped ensure this vital program continues free of charge.

If you've already given, please accept our deepest thanks.

This week: December 23-29, 2024

Holiday notice: Winter recess

Please note our offices will be closed and there will be no live programming December 24, 2024-January 1, 2025. Click here to enjoy encore presentations of select classes from our digital library at your convenience during this short recess.

Dance for PD Members have special access to our complete digital class library of Dance for PD, Sing for PD, Pilates and Yoga classes originally offered on Zoom. Not a member or need to renew? Click here to join! Please allow two business days for your membership to activate.

In-person classes | New York City

Our in-person classes in Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island will resume Thursday, January 2, 2025. We are now accepting registrations for classes taking place in our Winter 2025 sessions!

Click here to sign up to dance throughout the start of the new year! Advanced registration is required for all locations other than Brooklyn.

Live-streamed classes

Registration will open 15 minutes before the scheduled start time of each session. All classes/events are listed in Eastern Time (ET):

Our live-streamed community classes are offered via Zoom. Click here to learn more about how to download the free application on your home computer, tablet, or smartphone. Program staff will be online and available to help troubleshoot technical difficulties 15 minutes before class start time. Each session includes an opening welcome and time for small group conversation after the class.

Miss a class? Want to revisit a class? Dance for PD Members have special access to our digital class library of Dance for PD, Sing for PD, Pilates and Yoga classes originally offered on Zoom. Not a member or need to renew? Click here to join!

In-person classes | NY Metro Area

In-person Dance for PD-affiliated classes are offered throughout Westchester, Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Click here to explore locations and contact information through our global map.

Digital Resources

New record release

In November, our very own Richard X Bennett released a new album of music entitled SCAVENGER. Conceived and recorded earlier this year as part of a multi-media chronicling of his turbulent life, it features Richard on the piano and harmonica with performances by accomplished musicians from around the world. There is plenty of melody, groove, and even some raga. 

Available on all streaming platforms, click here to listen on Bandcamp along with short stories, breezy musical analysis, and links to his movies.

On Demand Tap series

Learn tap from Dance for PD founding teacher Misty Owens in this newly-posted Tap for PD 6-class series now available on demand in the Dance for PD digital library. Members can click here to log in and access the series. Not a member? Join today.

Member exclusive: Featured On Demand Classes of the Week 

Our Members' Digital Class Library, with more than 350 selections at your fingertips, features a different On Demand class each week. Just log in with your member credentials, visit the On Demand portal, and find the Featured Class channel to revisit  a gem from our archives.

Dance for PD® At Home

Volume 5 of our best-selling Dance for PD® At Home series features a set of exhilarating new movement activities that draw upon jazz, tap, modern and dances from the African diaspora - as well as Mark Morris repertory - to deliver a rigorous, stimulating and energetic experience. Led by Misty Owens, Pat Hall, and David Leventhal, the video is available now as a digital product that can be streamed or downloaded.

Click here to learn more and purchase a your digital copy. Click here to purchase

the DVD.

Dance by phone

Designed for persons more comfortable connecting by phone or those without computer access, Dance for PD is pleased to offer on-demand audio-described movement activities by phone.

You can dance by phone anytime by calling our toll-free number (1-800-957-1046) and selecting from a menu of movement activities starting with Extension 20. Learn more about this new free resource by clicking here.

Sunday social

Dance for PD is pleased to provide space in the digital world for members of our global community to connect for unstructured weekly group conversations on Sundays from 12-1 PM. Pop in at the top of the hour to say hello! All topics of conversation are welcome, but here are ideas (courtesy of Arlene Scorzelli) to get you started:
 

No registration required; click here to join via Zoom or login with these credentials:
 

Meeting ID: 971 5639 4867
Passcode: 567834

Connect at home

You're invited to be a member of the Dance for PD Connect at Home team through Ryver, a free online platform that allows members to communicate in four ways: group chats, discussion forums, private messages, or calls. This is also a wonderful resource to share news and events you think may interest others!

Click here to learn more and get started!

Share your experience

We are excited to include a new page on our website listing research opportunities available and relevant to our community members. While we do not vet each project, we do require that all listed opportunities have IRB approval, ensuring ethical and non-injurious study designs.

Click here to view opportunities - which currently include paid and unpaid surveys about Young Onset perspectives and communication experiences - and get involved in advancing the field of Parkinson's research.

Thank you for your participation!

Look at, Discuss and Make Art

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) invites you to join a free, in-person, six-session program series for people with Parkinson's and their care partners. Learn about art and meet new people through interactive conversation and art making sessions. Participants will practice exercises for mindful looking, observation, and sketching, as well as experiment with various art making techniques inspired by artworks in MoMA's collection. This course is tailored for people who are curious about art and new to art making. No prior experience necessary!

Offered to a small group of adults who should plan to attend all sessions, alternating between a program featuring a gallery conversation and a program featuring a shorter gallery conversation along with art making.

The 6-session series will culminate on the Monday, January 6 from 2-3:30 PM.

While the current session is fully subscribed, interested participants are encouraged to email PrimeTime@moma.org to be added to the waitlist or with any questions.

The Writing Circle

Writing about PD is an important way to explain what it is and how it feels like to live with it. There is a need for us to tell our own stories and we need to tell them not just to each other, but to everybody.
 

The Writing Circle provides a forum to support the writing process of people living with PD and group meets on the third Fridays of each month from 3:30-5 PM at The Mark Morris Dance Center. It is open to anyone living with PD who is willing to contribute actively with text contributions according to our work plan.
 

Contact Christian Lotz at christianlotzny@gmail.com for more information and to join!

Your Voice Counts

The Downtown Brooklyn Speech and Hearing Clinic at LIU-Brooklyn is pleased to offer an in-person, voice and communication group for individuals with Parkinson’s (PD) on Thursdays at 1 PM.
 

This group is student-led and supervised by a licensed speech-language pathologist with expertise in working with individuals with PD. The program is specifically tailored for individuals with PD who have completed voice or speech therapy. It will also incorporate self-advocacy training, caregiver engagement, and education on alternative communication devices that participants may utilize. Participants will have the opportunity for socialization and practice using their strong, dynamic voices by maintaining and extending the skills they have learned in therapy.
 

For more information, please contact Erin Bestreich, MS, CCC-SLP, at (347) 509-4974 or erin.bestreich@liu.edu.
 

Fitness for PD

In person or Online
Tuesdays from 9:45-11:15 AM
 

Join us at LIU Brooklyn for free exercise classes developed specifically for people with Parkinson’s. Led by Tracye Rawls-Martin and LIU students, participants build physical fitness and skills by challenging their abilities in a friendly, caring, and rigorous environment.
 

Advanced registration and medical clearance are required for all participants; for schedule details and to enroll, email Tracye.Rawls-Martin@liu.edu or call (718) 780-4081. Click here for more information.
 

Speech for PD

Join Teachers College at Columbia University online for free intensive speech treatment for people with Parkinson’s. Led by Gemma Moya-Galé, Carol Normal, and TC graduate students, the focus of these sessions is to enhance social participation by focusing on voice and breathing exercises that target intelligibility as well as on functional speaking and cognitive tasks. Participants will work in both big group and smaller subgroup formats, which offers many opportunities to practice in a fun, engaging, and interactive way from home.
 

To learn more and receive information for upcoming sessions email Gemma Moya-Galé at gm2446@tc.columbia.edu.

Support services

Online General Support Group*
First, third, and fifth Wednesdays of the month, 5:15-6:15 PM
 

In person General Support Group
Second and fourth Wednesdays of the month, 1-2 PM @ Mark Morris Dance Center

Join us to reconnect! People living with PD are invited to participate in our online and in-person community conversations to share challenges and best practices for staying health and engaged.
 

Click here or call (646) 876-9923 and enter meeting ID 818 0390 3715# to join the online meetings on first and third Wednesdays of each month. You can also tune in by entering the Zoom meeting ID and passcode:
 

Meeting ID: 818 0390 3715
Passcode: 449910
 

*Online support group meetings will be offered via Zoom. Click here to learn more about how to download the free application on your home computer, tablet, or smartphone. Technical support will be online and available to help troubleshoot difficulties 15 minutes before meeting start time

 

Care Partner Support Group
 

Heights and Hills is proud to offer in-person and online support groups for spouses, partners, or family members caring for a person living with Parkinson's weekly on Wednesdays. Sessions run from 12-2 PM on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at the Mark Morris Dance Center in Brooklyn; participants have the option to connect in person or remotely via Zoom.
 

For more information, contact Yulin Liu at (718) 596-8789 or yliu@heightsandhills.org.

Peer 2 Peer Support Group
 

Informally started by participants in the Dance for PD PRO Manhattan class, this peer-led group was formed from an organic need to talk to others living with PD, share experiences, get ideas, and learn from one another. Meetings take place in person on Thursdays from 6:30-7:30 PM at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, located at 334 Amsterdam Avenue at W. 76th Street. 

Click here for more information or contact Whitney Champman at (646) 505-4383 or wchapman@mmjccm.org.

Music Mark Morris wants you to hear

'Tis the season of. . . Tchaikovsky's brilliant music for the two-act ballet, The Nutcracker. For The Hard Nut performances earlier this month at BAM, Mark Morris and Music Director Colin Fowler chose a 2019 arrangement by German composer and arranger Ronald Kornfeil.

One of Mark's favorite recordings is Michael Tilson Thomas' from 1985, in which he used toy instruments. Click here to listen on Spotify.
 

Weekly Move & Flow classes

Part of the Mark Morris Dance Group Adult Program's Movement for Older Bodies series, Move & Flow is a structured dance experience developed for older adults seeking a fun, creative approach to maintaining physical health, confidence, and a sense of well-being. Sessions integrate somatic and dance technique, motor skill development, and social connection to create a uniquely enjoyable, musical and motivating exercise experience that treats elders as artists and dancers.

Click here to join us in person or online weekly on Tuesdays from 2-3 PM.

Dance for PD® is made possible through generous support from our community. We gratefully acknowledge contributions from individual Dance for PD members, donors, and Friends of MMDG along with public and private institutions:

AbbVie

American Parkinson Disease Association

Adira Foundation

Billy Rose Foundation

Bloomberg Philanthropies

Bossak/Heilbron Charitable Foundation

The Dillon Fund

General Catalyst

Bernard F. and Alva B. Gimbel Foundation

Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund

Lily Auchincloss Foundation

Lucy Bowen Fund

Medtronic, Inc.

A community grant from the Parkinson’s Foundation

Sence Foundation

Sills Family Foundation

Stanley J. Wertheimer Fund

Public support for Dance for PD is provided by New York City Council Member Crystal Hudson, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

 

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