Dance for Parkinson's
Also known as: Dance for PD, Parkinson's Dance Class, Dance for Parkinson's Disease
History & Cultural Context
Dance for Parkinson's began in October 2001, when Olie Westheimer of the Brooklyn Parkinson Group approached the Mark Morris Dance Group with a proposal for a dance class designed for her members. Six Brooklyn Parkinson Group members attended the first session at the Mark Morris Dance Center. The resulting programme, Dance for PD, is taught by professional dancers rather than clinicians and is customarily accompanied by live music. Its founding premise is that dancers spend their careers solving exactly the problems Parkinson's presents, including initiating movement, controlling balance, sequencing complex actions and moving rhythmically through space, and that participants should be addressed as dancers rather than as patients. Classes typically move from a seated warm-up through barre-style work to standing sequences and travelling phrases, often closing with a repertory excerpt. David Leventhal, a former Mark Morris company member and the programme's founding teacher, received a World Parkinson Congress award in 2016. Mark Morris Dance Group became sole administrator in 2018, and the model now reaches more than 400 communities across some 30 countries.
Cultural Significance
The programme sits at the meeting point of the concert dance world and the Parkinson's community, and has been influential in arguing that arts organisations, not only clinics, can meaningfully serve people living with degenerative conditions.
Characteristic Movement & Technique
Seated warm-ups, barre-derived footwork, port de bras, rhythmic stepping and travelling phrases. Imagery, musical phrasing and live accompaniment are used as cues for movement initiation and continuity.
Partnering Dynamics
Mostly non-partnered, though social dance sections and hand-to-hand work are common. Care partners typically join the class as dancers in their own right rather than attending as helpers.
Competitive Context
There is no competitive dimension. The format is a class and community practice, discussed in participatory and research terms rather than through performance rankings or adjudication.
Regional Variations
The model has spread through teacher training rather than franchising, and local programmes draw on their own dance traditions, languages and repertory while keeping the live-music and professional-dancer principles.
Common Misconceptions
It is often described as dance therapy or physiotherapy; it is neither. It is taught by dance artists in a studio, and participation is framed as artistic activity, with any physical benefit treated as a welcome by-product rather than the purpose.
Peak Popularity
Signature Figures
- Olie Westheimer
- David Leventhal
- Mark Morris
Notable Codifiers
- Mark Morris Dance Group
- Brooklyn Parkinson Group
Sources & Further Reading
Cultural & Historical Context
Dance for Parkinson's emerged from Brooklyn, New York, United States during the 2001s—present day. Understanding the cultural roots, musical traditions, and social circumstances of this era enriches appreciation for the dance's characteristics and significance.
Formative Influences
Codifiers & Standardizers:
Mark Morris Dance Group, Brooklyn Parkinson Group
Signature Movement Vocabulary:
Olie Westheimer, David Leventhal, Mark Morris
Primary Source Documents
The Library of Dance contains public-domain primary sources for dance history. Copyrighted modern syllabi are indexed with purchase links to their respective copyright owners. Search by dance name or codifier to discover primary source documents.
Last reviewed: August 2026 — This dance profile synthesizes historical research, cultural documentation, and contemporary practice knowledge to provide authoritative context.
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