Dance classes help people with Parkinson’s

Mary-Louise “Weezie” Smith and her husband David arrive early for class and make their way up a small staircase, where Weezie sits at her desk and her husband begins setting the chairs in a circle on the dance floor.

She’s the creator of Bloomington’s chapter of a dance program that offers a community activity for people with Parkinson’s disease.

Dance for Parkinson’s Disease in Bloomington takes place the first Tuesday of the month at the Windfall Dancers Studio on Dunn Street.

But Dance for PD didn’t start with Weezie. It has found its way here after becoming a worldwide program in more than 100 communities in nine countries, according to the Dance for PD website.

Parkinson’s disease is the malfunction and death of vital nerve cells in the brain. A person with Parkinson’s could experience a tremor in the hands, arms, legs, jaw and face. Slowness of movement, stiffness of limbs and trunk, or impaired balance and coordination are also common symptoms.

The first Dance for PD class was created in 2001 by founder and executive director of the Brooklyn Parkinson Group, Olie Westheimer. She approached a professional dance group and proposed an idea of a rigorous, creative dance class for people suffering from Parkinson’s, the website says.

Dance for PD has continued to grow and spread throughout the world
since then.

“Each class is run a little different, depending on the area it is in,” Roberta Wong, Bloomington’s lead Dance for PD instrucor, said. “For example, our class is a little mellower than one a friend of mine in Australia teaches,” she said.

Wherever the class is offered, each one aims to be true to Westheimer’s vision for the class.

Dance for Parkinson’s is taught by professionally-trained dancers and makes the class useful for participants to practice balance, sequencing, rhythm and visual awareness.

But the class isn’t considered physical therapy. It’s about the art, technique and the fun of dancing, Weezie said.

All the participants are at a different level with their Parkinson’s. Some don’t have many limits on speech, movement and facial expression; others do.

Weezie was diagnosed with the disease in 2003. She started her dance class ten years later in 2013.

“I was watching a PBS special about the class in Brooklyn and decided I wanted to start a class here in Bloomington,” she said.

No one can tell Smith has the disease when she starts dancing. She’s able to work through many of the movements without much trouble.

“The class does not focus on things people can’t do, but more on what they can do,” Weezie’s husband and participant David Smith said.

The next class will be at 11:30 a.m. July 1 at Windfall Dancers Studio, and there is a suggested fee of $5.