Community Workshop about Dance and Parkinson’s Planned

Monday, March 31, 2014, By Sarah Scalese
Mark Morris Dance Group

Mark Morris Dance Group

Tumay Tunur and Donna Korol from the Department of Biology in The College of Arts and Sciences, SU Arts Engage and the Brooklyn, NY-based Mark Morris Dance Group (MMDG) are teaming up to present “Movement for Healthy Aging: A Community Workshop about Dance and Parkinson’s.” This two-day event, scheduled for Friday, April 11, and Saturday, April 12, is free and open to the public.

The event aims to provide an immersive exploration into the ways dance effectively complements traditional medical, surgical and therapeutic interventions for Parkinson’s. Recent studies have shown how dance can help people manage their symptoms and quality of life while maintaining a sense of grace and dignity as they face challenges of living with a chronic condition.

Workshop sessions will kick off on Friday at 5 p.m. with an opening reception, poster session and test screening of the movie “Capturing Grace,” a new documentary film about dancers with Parkinson’s disease joining forces with MMDG to stage a unique performance. All of Friday’s activities will be held in the Lundgren Room, 106 Life Sciences Complex. Misty Owens, a dance teacher who was part of the team that developed MMDG’s Dance for PD program with Brooklyn Parkinson Group, will be helping to lead and facilitate the sessions.

Still from "Capturing Grace"

Still from “Capturing Grace”

The schedule for Saturday’s activities at the MIND Lab at AXA Equitable Tower in Syracuse is as follows:

10-11 a.m. Introductory Presentation: Why Dance for PD

11 a.m.-noon Experiential Workshop: Transforming Challenges into Movement Solutions

noon-12:30 p.m. Film: Why Dance for PD

2-3:30 p.m. Dance for PD Community Class (open to people with PD, their families, friends and care takers)

3:30-4:30 p.m. Community Round Table (responses and intersections with the community)

4:45-6 p.m. Panel Discussion

7-8:15 p.m. Optional Test Screening of “Capturing Grace”

To register, use the Eventbrite page or contact Tunur via e-mail at tumaytunur@yahoo.com or by phone at 504-570-0752 by Wednesday, April 9.