Friday is World Parkinson's Day! On Friday, April 11, iconic landmarks, bridges, and buildings across the globe will illuminate in blue as part of "Spark the Night," a powerful visual initiative supporting the 11.8 million people around the world living with Parkinson’s while bringing
attention to the isolation, anxiety, and loneliness that often intensify after dusk. Each glowing light represents a story, a voice, and a collective commitment to living well with PD until there is a cure. We invite you to commemorate this international day of awareness by making a donation to support Dance for PD continue to share the joys and benefits of dance during Parkinson's Awareness Month and
throughout the year. Moving Brains, Dancing Souls Join us April 7 and then on the first and third Mondays of each month from 3-4:30 PM at El Barrio Artspace PS109, located at 215 E. 99th Street (bet. 2nd & 3rd Aves.) in Manhattan. Led in Spanish and English
by Bethina Sayegh-Flores in collaboration with Dr. Jose Cabssa from Moving Brains Foundation, the session includes a brief health evaluation before a fun, energetic 90-minute dance-based workout. The event
is offered free of charge. For more information, visit movingbrainsfoundation.org or email movingbrainsneuro@gmail.com. Our friends at Baryshnikov Arts are pleased to offer a limited number of reduced-price tickets to a performance of A Mother on Friday, April 11 at 1 PM. Featuring acclaimed
actress Jessica Hecht, A Mother is a groundbreaking theatrical event that not only pays homage to Brecht’s powerful, seldom-performed play, but also breathes new life into it through a contemporary lens. The performance will be followed by an exclusive Q&A with the cast and creative team. Click here for more information and use promo code DANCEFORPD to access your $25 tickets. Click here for directions to and access information for the theater. This week: April 7-13, 2025 In-person classes | New York CityWe currently offer in-person classes in Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Registration is now open for classes taking place in our Winter 2025 and Spring/Summer 2025 sessions! Advanced registration is required for all locations other than Brooklyn,
though encouraged. Dance for PD Staten Island Dance for PD PRO (all standing class) 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 AreaIn-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. Upcoming holiday notice: Spring Recess Please note there will be no regular Dance for PD programming April 14-20 in observance of Passover and Easter. While we won't have live classes during this short recess, we invite you to enjoy sample activities from our digital class library that are available on-demand and free of charge. Dance for PD members have unlimited access to the full library, featuring more than 400 on-demand classes, including Dance, Sing, Yoga, and Pilates classes, as well as Guided Meditations. If you are not already a member, you can click here to join us. Please allow 48 business hours for memberships to be confirmed. For 23 years, support from community members like you has helped ensure our vital Dance for PD programming continues free of charge. 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—helping us continue to share the joys and benefits of dance throughout the year. Digital + Community Resources John Arena, a world-renowned pizza master and person living with PD, is offering a free pizza-making class on Monday, April 21 from 4-5:30 PM
at Kesté, located at 66 Gold Street in Brooklyn. The event is limited to 12 persons and is exclusively open to those living with Parkinson's and accompanying care
partners. Please RSVP to Whitney Chapman at (646) 505-4383, ext. 383 or wchapman@mmjccm.org with your name, the number of people in your party, and your contact information. Learn tap from Dance for PD founding teacher Misty Owens in this 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. 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 Dance by phoneDesigned 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 socialDance 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:
▪ | What's the last book you read? What are you reading now? |
▪ | Do you have a favorite family recipe you'd be willing to share? |
▪ | What's your favorite movie and/or TV show? |
▪ | How do you handle loneliness? |
▪ | How do you make best use of your time alone? |
No registration required; click here to join via Zoom or login with these credentials:
Meeting ID: 971 5639 4867
Passcode: 567834
Connect at homeYou'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! We are excited to include a 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 a cognitive skills coaching program, Young Onset perspectives, and communication experiences -
and get involved in advancing the field of Parkinson's research. Thank you for your participation! BPG activities are co-coordinated by Judy Dean and Susan March. For more information regarding BPG community programming, contact Judy at judithdean@earthlink.net or (718) 643-1130. |
2025 Parkinson's Unity Walk Join Brooklyn Parkinson Group (and the Dance for PD team) at the Parkinson’s Unity Walk in Central Park Saturday, April 26. Carol Enseki, Manny Torrijos, Harold Clinton, and Tom Dean have formed the Brooklyn Parkinson Group and Friends team to raise money for Parkinson’s research via the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Click here to join the team, donate, or both! The team will meet at the Naumberg Bandshell at 9:30 AM (use the 72nd Street entrance on 5th Avenue). Dress for the occasion by purchasing a team t-shirt via Bonfire. 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. Through the month of April, the group is writing about spouses, family, and
care partners. Contributions from people with PD are always welcome, and this month, family members and care partners are also invited to contribute.
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 PDIn 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 PDJoin 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.
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. Restorative Movement for Older Bodies Join us for a new FREE 6-week Restorative Movement class on Fridays through May 9 from 2:15-3:15 PM at the Mark Morris Dance Center in Brooklyn. Designed for care partners of people with PD and any older adult, this class draws from a variety of somatic techniques including Gyrokinesis, Pilates, and Yoga to focus on breath, alignment, balance, core strength, flexibility, and expanding one’s kinesphere. Seated or standing, participants will explore
movement in ways that feel natural and nourishing while releasing tension, building social connections, and sharing resources. Click here to learn more and register for this free class! Persons living with PD are encouraged to
join us for PD Movement Lab which takes place simultaneously with this class. The 6-Week Intro Series at the Mark Morris Dance Center is a perfect opportunity to start from scratch or build upon beginner dance skills. Taught by our incredible faculty members, these classes allow students a safe environment to learn and master the fundamentals of particular
styles.
The spring session begins this week and includes Tap, Hip-Hop, Contemporary, Samba & Afro-Brazilian, Ballet, Heels, and Intergenerational West African Dance.
Click here for more information and to register.
If you plan to participate as a seated dancer or require additional accommodations to support your enjoyment, please email adultprograms@mmdg.org with your needs. Join us at The Joyce this summer From July 15-26, Mark Morris Dance Group launches its milestone 45th anniversary season at The Joyce, presenting two stunning programs that showcase the breadth and versatility of Mark Morris’s choreography. With live music and Mark Morris’s signature blend of wit, musicality, and emotional depth, this
much-anticipated engagement features both new works and beloved repertory. Tickets are now on sale! Click here to learn more about each program and secure your seats. We want to hear from you! |
Your feedback and ideas in
support of our growth and continued success are welcome! Click here to share your experience about a specific class you've attended or call us at (800)
957-1046. Have you joined us for class in person at the Mark Morris Dance Center in Brooklyn? If so, we want to hear about your experience! Click here to complete a 3-question survey. We thank you for your feedback! |
We look forward to seeing you! |
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 Breukelein Institute 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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©2024 Mark Morris Dance Group/Dance for PD® | Dance for PD® is a program of Mark Morris Dance
Group | 3 Lafayette Ave. | Brooklyn, NY 11217 |
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