Dance class ‘uplifting’ for people with Parkinson’s
November 14th, 2008
From USA Today:
The Mark Morris Dance Group in Brooklyn, NY, leads weekly classes modified for people with Parkinson’s disease. Instructors say they’re careful not to make any medical claims, and that they’re just trying to encourage movement and well-being. Students say the classes make them feel good.
“The dance class is uplifting,” says Carroll Neesemann, 67, a commercial arbitrator from Brooklyn who has had Parkinson’s for 12 years and has attended classes with his wife, Helena, since the beginning. “I know I’m not moving exactly straight up, but I feel symptom-free.”
The program started with just a handful of people five years ago, and now has about forty students. Experts estimate that about one percent of people over 60 live with Parkinson’s disease.

