Resources & Links

This page is a collection of projects, stories, videos, books, research articles, interviews and links which have either inspired the development of Moving Through, are considered supporting evidence, or are simply what we consider to be relevant and related information. “Links” here refers not only to hyperlinks and sources, but to the possibility of generative “links” between information found on this page and elsewhere. As the dynamic power of artistic projects reside in their potential to open perspectives through creating new associative links, and the foundation of brain plasticity is the ability to create new neural pathways, or “links”, it is our hope that this page may be explored in such a way that the cross-pollination and interweaving of different materials and ideas can foster new and different conceptual frameworks for the relationship between dance and Parkinson’s Disease.

Explore Störung הפרעה

IMPROVment® is a method led by Christina Soriano, Associate Provost for the Arts and Interdisciplinary Initiatives at Wake Forest University and associate professor of dance. Moving Through is inspired by IMPROVment® insofar as the method is based upon improvisation and audio cueing in an environment liberated from judgement or any single right or wrong movements.

Relevant Research

Marsh, L. Depression and Parkinson’s Disease: Current Knowledge. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 13, 409 (2013).

Depressive disturbances are common in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and influence many other clinical aspects of the disease. In addition to causing inherent emotional distress, depressive disorders negatively impact quality of life, motor and cognitive deficits, functional disability, and other psychiatric comorbidities in patients with PD. Knowledge of the pathophysiology of PD depression remains limited. However, clinical studies demonstrate the efficacy of medications and psychotherapies for PD depression, underscoring the importance of their timely detection and concerted management.

Batson, Glenna., Feasibility of an Intensive Trial of Modern Dance for Adults with Parkinson Disease. Complementary health practice review, Volume: 15 issue: 2, page(s): 65-83

Although preliminary evidence supports the psychophysical benefits of dance for adults with Parkinson disease, guidelines for community-based dance programs await further scrutiny for safety and efficacy. This pilot study was designed to assess the feasibility of an intensive trial of group-delivered modern dance for 11 adults with early-to-middle stage Parkinson’s. The Timed ‘‘Up and Go’’ test and the Fullerton Advanced Balance scale were administered to assess balance safety and re-administered at closure along with a self-reported feedback questionnaire. Video recordings were analyzed for qualitative behavioral change. Pre/posttest comparisons from the Timed ‘‘Up and Go’’ test were not significant, while those from the Fullerton Advanced Balance Scale were significant at the .05 level for the group as a whole (p = .01) with an average score change of +3.1 points. Although qualitative results generally concurred with the social benefits associated with an enjoyable form of expressive exercise, important indicators surfaced bearing on future research and community program designs. These include need for more rigorous stratification of participants and adapting dance class structure to address specific group needs to promote motor learning for sustained functional gains.

Glenna Batson, Sara James Migliarese, Christina Soriano, Jonathan H. Burdette & Paul J. Laurienti (2014) Effects of Improvisational Dance on Balance in Parkinson's Disease: A Two-Phase fMRI Case Study, Physical & Occupational Therapy In Geriatrics, 32:3, 188-197

Aims: This two-phase pilot examined the effects of group-delivered improvisational dance on balance in people with Parkinson's disease. Subsequently, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was examined in one individual for changes in whole-brain functional network connectivity. Methods: In Phase I, seven community-dwelling adults (mean age 67) with middle stage Parkinson's disease completed a 7-week improvisation dance series. In Phase II, one participant from the pilot group underwent brain scanning following a 5-day trial of dance. Results: Group pretest-posttest balance comparisons from Phase I were significant on the Fullerton Advanced Balance Scale (p = 0.017). Posttest scans in Phase II exhibited significantly increased network connectivity between the basal ganglia and premotor cortices. Conclusions: Improvisational dance resulted in functional gains in balance for people with Parkinson's disease and merits further exploration. For one participant, functional improvements appeared to correlate with emergence of higher order neural functioning.

Glenna Batson, Christina E. Hugenschmidt, Christina T. Soriano Verbal Auditory Cueing of Improvisational Dance: A Proposed Method for Training Agency in Parkinson’s Disease. Front Neurol. 2016; 7: 15. Published online 2016 Feb 17

Dance is a non-pharmacological intervention that helps maintain functional independence and quality of life in people with Parkinson’s disease (PPD). Results from controlled studies on group-delivered dance for people with mild-to-moderate stage Parkinson’s have shown statistically and clinically significant improvements in gait, balance, and psychosocial factors. Tested interventions include non-partnered dance forms (ballet and modern dance) and partnered (tango). In all of these dance forms, specific movement patterns initially are learned through repetition and performed in time-to-music. Once the basic steps are mastered, students may be encouraged to improvise on the learned steps as they perform them in rhythm with the music. Here, we summarize a method of teaching improvisational dance that advances previous reported benefits of dance for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). The method relies primarily on improvisational verbal auditory cueing with less emphasis on directed movement instruction. This method builds on the idea that daily living requires flexible, adaptive responses to real-life challenges. In PD, movement disorders not only limit mobility but also impair spontaneity of thought and action. Dance improvisation demands open and immediate interpretation of verbally delivered movement cues, potentially fostering the formation of spontaneous movement strategies. Here, we present an introduction to a proposed method, detailing its methodological specifics, and pointing to future directions. The viewpoint advances an embodied cognitive approach that has eco-validity in helping PPD meet the changing demands of daily living.

Sara Houston The Methodological Challenges of Research into Dance for People with Parkinson's Dance Research: The Journal of the Society for Dance Research Vol. 29, Special On-line Supplement on Dance and Neuroscience (November 2011), pp. 329-351

Evidence suggests that temporary relief of some symptoms is afforded by dancing to music and that dancing aids some people with Parkinson's to cope better with everyday actions. Most dance practitioners, however, approach sessions as a way for people to engage in an artistic and social practice. This paper was written at the start of a mixedmethods research project carried out in conjunction with English National Ballet, whose Department of Learning piloted twelve dance sessions for people with Parkinson's based on Nureyev's Romeo and Juliet. It discusses the tension between characterising dance as a rehabilitative therapy and perceiving it as an artistic and social practice.

Barbara L. Fredrickson, Ph.D., Body of research on positive psychology and mindfulness

Barbara L. Fredrickson, Ph.D. is Kenan Distinguished Professor; Department of Psychology and Neuroscience; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Director, Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Laboratory; President, International Positive Psychology Association. Among the most highly cited scholars in psychology, Barbara Fredrickson is most known for her “broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions,” foundational within Positive Psychology for providing a blueprint for how pleasant emotional states, as fleeting as they are, contribute to resilience, wellbeing, and health. She is Director of the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Laboratory (PEP Lab) at UNC-Chapel Hill, Founding Co-Chair of the Association of Positive Emotion Laboratories (APEL), and current President of the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA).

Interview with Glenna Batson, ScD, PT, MA

Glenna Batson sits down with Culture Mill in May 2020 to discuss her history with dance and Parksinson’s Disease, her commitment to improvisation, her thoughts on the future of scientific research in dance and movement disorders and her perspective on Moving Through.

For more than four decades, Glenna Batson, has sourced from multiple discourses as catalysts for teaching, research, and artistic growth. She is an independent researcher and lecturer who has honed a trans-disciplinary approach to the study of embodiment. Her teaching and publications have bridged between theory and practice within dance, human movement science and somatic education (Somatics). Glenna is professor emeritus of physical therapy at Winston-Salem State University (North Carolina, USA). She holds a Master’s in dance education (1978), and Master of Science (1983) and Doctor of Science in physical therapy (clinical neuroscience) (2006). She is an internationally recognized teacher of the Alexander Technique (qualified 1989) and was pivotal in the early establishment of IADMS (International Association of Dance Medicine and Science). Faculty of the American Dance Festival (1986-2013) and the Hollins/ADF M.F.A. (2006- 2013), Glenna currently teaches Somatics for the MFA in dance at Duke University. She is a Fulbright Senior Specialist in dance, with residences atTrinity Laban Conservatoire of Dance (London, UK) the Universities of Tallinn and Tartu (Estonia), and Bath Spa University (Bath, UK). Between 2008-2016, she conducted pioneering research on the effects of improvisational dance on agency in people living with Parkinson’s disease. In addition to her published research, she is author of Body and Mind in Motion: Dance and Neuroscience in Conversation and Dance, and co-editor/contributor to Somatics and Spiritualities: Contemporary Sacred Narratives (University of Chicago press, 2014). At 72 years young, she remains inspired by many inroads to embodied knowledge – contemplative to expressive, artistic to scientific – as solutions to many of today’s societal challenges. More at www.glennabatson.net & www.humanorigami.com

Managing Parkinson‘s with the Mind of a Dancer

with David Leventhal

David Leventhal is a founding teacher and Program Director for Dance for PD® , a collaborative program of the Mark Morris Dance Group and Brooklyn Parkinson Group that has now been used as a model for classes in more than 300 communities in 25 countries. He leads classes for people with Parkinson’s around the world and trains other teachers in the Dance for PD approach, and serves as a Davis Phinney Foundation Board Member. In this Living Well Challenge™ webisode, Leventhal discusses the benefits of Managing Parkinson’s with the Mind of a Dancer and invites viewers to experience the liberation and attitude shift that coincides with shedding the label “Person with Parkinson’s” and adopting the new identity of “dancer.” He further details how thinking and moving like a dancer logically applies to many aspects of living with Parkinson’s.

John Pepper’s Parkinson’s Disease Journey

John Pepper was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1992. After only six years of regular, energetic exercise, which has since been proven to slow down or even reverse Pd, and taking medication, which has also since been proven to slow down or reverse Pd, he no longer appears to have Pd, although he still has many of the symptoms.

Acclaimed Neuroscientist Norman Doidge discusses John Pepper

Dr Gary Sharpe, Phd, is a scientist and engineer by background, diagnosed with Early Onset Parkinson's Disease in 2009. After six years of dying inside, he started "Out-Thinking Parkinson's" in January 2016 in order to pursue pragmatic and practical solutions towards progressive symptom reduction for people with Parkinson's Disease. Today, Out-Thinking Parkinson's has become a major resource, where Gary and colleagues from around the world, who also have an insider's perspective of PD, share their knowledge, philosophies and experience of living well with PD, and, also, record their stories of recovery.

Relevant Books

• Langer E. On Becoming an Artist: Reinventing Yourself Through Mindful Creativity. Ballantine Books; 2005.
  Olsen, Andrea. The Place of Dance. (2014) Connecticut, Wesleyan University Press.

• Olsen, Andréa. Body and Earth. (2002) New Hampshire, Middlebury College Press.

• Olsen, Andrea. Body Stories, Connecticut, Wesleyan University Press.

• Studd, Karen & Laura Cox. EveryBody is a Body. (2013) Indiana, Dog Ear Publishing.

• Herrmann, Brigitta and Manfred Fischbeck. Group Motion in Practice. (2018). North Carolina, McFarland and Company.

• Calais-Germain, Blandine. Anatomy of Breathing, (2005) Washington, Eastland Press.

• Preston, Valerie. A Handbook for Modern Educational Dance. (1973) London, MacDonald and Evan.

• Houston, Sarah (2019) Dancing with Parkinson’s. Hobbs, United Kingdom.

• Hackney, Peggy (1998) Making Connections. New York, Routledge.

This project is funded in part by ADF with a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the North Carolina Arts Council. This project is made possible in part with a grant from the Kenan Charitable Trust. Additional support is provided by RTI International.