Thank you!

Your Support Transforms Lives

Dear Friend,

Globally, through new partnerships with Sun Pharma, we introduced community-based programs in Kathmandu and Lima, opening pathways for sustained engagement in regions where access to this work has been extremely limited. With continued support from the Bowen Fund and donors like you, our Launch Grant initiative has now seeded 16 pilot programs across seven countries, supporting teaching teams with stipends, studio access, equipment, promotional tools, and ongoing mentorship from our staff.

At the same time, our leadership in the growing field of neuroarts has reached a new level. This year, I was honored to be named a Renée Fleming Neuroarts Investigator, alongside neuroscientist Dr. Constantina Theofanopoulou at Rockefeller University. Together, we will begin neuroimaging research exploring what happens in the brain when people with Parkinson’s engage in dance-based movement—building directly on prior studies that link Dance for PD participation to improvements in mood, mobility, and even slowed symptom progression. A recent longitudinal study from York University, featured in The Washington Post, further connected reductions in depression with measurable changes in a key mood-regulating region of the brain.

This growing body of evidence was also recognized in a major institutional milestone: Dance for PD's training program is now formally accredited by the Parkinson’s Foundation as an approved Movement Education Provider—the first and only dance-based program to receive this distinction. It affirms that our work lives at the intersection of artistic excellence and rigorous health education.

Alongside this scientific momentum, we continue to champion creativity as a vital force in living well with Parkinson’s. This year’s Bowen Award for Inclusive Choreography will support new works by Niamh O’Loughlin in Scotland and John Heginbotham in New Orleans—each collaborating directly with people living with Parkinson’s to create public performances. These projects remind us, again and again, that our community is not defined by diagnosis, but by expression, courage, and hope. 

Check out our most recent newsletter here for more updates.

All of this—every class, every training, every research initiative, every new community launched—traces back to supporters like you.

As I reflect on the year, I return to a moment captured by journalist, Parkinson's community advocate, and dear friend Dave Iverson, on the PBS Newshour:
 

"Joy—it's not a quality you associate often with Parkinson's. And yet, it is what you see here."

Dave's comment continues to resonate with me because it so simply names what you make possible—not only improved balance or gait or cognition, but a life animated by creativity, connection, dignity, and joy.

Looking ahead to the year to come, your investment helps us:

• Offer more than 480 free in-person and online classes in English, Mandarin, and Spanish—and continue Dance by Phone for those without internet access.
• Maintain and grow our digital library of 400+ on-demand classes and exercises, supporting people wherever they live.
• Deliver international teacher training and professional development in six countries, equipping dance artists, therapists, and medical professionals to bring this work home to their communities.
• Expand the Launch Grant Program, jumpstarting at least 10 new local programs worldwide.
• Create performance opportunities for people living with Parkinson's through the Bowen Award for Inclusive Choreography
• Distribute five new At Home instructional videos, free of charge, with Spanish and Mandarin voiceovers.
• Advance cutting-edge research with Columbia, NYU, Northeastern, Tufts, and Rockefeller University—strengthening the evidence base that guides clinical and community practice.

As we approach this milestone anniversary, I feel more certain than ever that Dance for PD is not just a program—it is an ecosystem shaped by artists, scientists, teachers, participants, caregivers, and extraordinarily generous partners like you.

Thank you for walking this path with us as we step into our 25th year with ambition, humility, and deep gratitude. And thank you for being an integral part of our Dance for PD family. 

With deep gratitude and best wishes for the new year,
David Leventhal
Program Director, Dance for PD

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