Category Archives: Training

Twice-weekly classes designed to improve flexibility, balance, and quality of life

Cincinnati Ballet announces new dance classes for persons living with Parkinson’s Disease. The new program — CB Moves for Parkinson’s — was created in partnership with Dancing with Parkinson’s Cincinnati. The program is based on the Dance for PD methodology created by acclaimed choreographer Mark Morris. Our expert faculty use movement and music to stimulate both the body and mind, providing a supportive forum for fitness, expression, and community for participants of all ages. Dancers are welcome to enjoy class on their own or to invite a companion to participate with them.

Dance might not seem like the obvious therapy for people living with Parkinson’s Disease, who are often known for tremors in their hands and shuffling of their feet. Parkinson’s Disease can also cause muscle rigidity and affect balance, and patients can experience fatigue, mood disorders, and cognitive impairment that can significantly decrease quality of life. Dance therapy has been shown to improve patients’ motor function and well-being. “Dance may be effective in targeting motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease because it incorporates the stretching and strengthening of muscles, and increases flexibility throughout the body, which may help maintain balance in people with Parkinson’s,” researchers at Northwestern University wrote after conducting a 2018 study which evaluated the benefits of dance therapy in Parkinson’s patients.

All Tri-State PD patients and their loved ones are welcome to program. Classes are held at the Cincinnati Ballet Margaret and Michael Valentine Center for Dance in Walnut Hills on Mondays and Fridays and at the Wyoming Fine Arts Center on Wednesdays. Classes are offered on a drop-in basis so there is no advance commitment required. The $10 class fee covers both the participant and a companion. Financial aid is available.

For more information, head to www.cballet.org/cbmoves-for-parkinsons.