6 minute read
Jeté for Joy
Sondra and Albert Shryock. PHOTO BY KAREN DAY
Dance for Parkinson’s Idaho is On Pointe
BY HEATHER HAMILTON-POST
Sondra Shryock pushed an invisible ball. Sunlight streamed through the windows and her limbs, stretched gracefully forward, guided the unseeable sphere into the arms of Sarah Powell, the teacher who heads the improvisation and class. In Sarah’s grasp, the ball was suddenly larger, the full span of her outreached arms, very bouncy, and headed toward Barbara Morgan, a retired neurologist who caught it in her palm and gently blew it to Georgiann Raimondi, President of the Board of Directors for Dance for Parkinson’s Idaho.
The organization has been in the state since 2014, and seeks to bring dance, music, movement, artistry, and grace to Idaho’s Parkinson’s community. Sondra, who has attended since the beginning, has Parkinson’s and uses the class to help mitigate the effects of the disease.
Taught by professional dancers trained in the Dance for PD method, the class, which originated in New York, is one of over 300 movement classes across the U.S.which addresses the specific concerns of Parkinson’s, including balance, flexibility, coordination, gait, isolation, and depression.
Before class, the dancers asked each other about mutual friends. Over the years, they’ve said goodbye to a few folks, which is difficult, given the tight and supportive community that they’ve formed.
“For a long time after, we kept an empty chair in memory. It was a hard loss,” said Georgiann. The group nods in agreement, smiling faintly, silent in a moment of collective remembrance and then resuming their smiles. They’re here for a reason.
“I’ve been fighting,” laughed Sondra. “And I really appreciate having the ballerinas do this for us.”
Liz Keller, the Idaho organization’s founding and current director, started teaching Parkinson’s classes on tour with Trey McIntyre Project, which sought to involve performers in the communities they were present in. Her passion for teaching, combined with the first Dance for Parkinson’s class she observed, fueled her desire to make the class a success here.
“These people had trouble walking in, and after class, were literally able to tango out of the room. I called Trey and told him that we need to bring this to Boise,” Liz said.
Liz dove into the research and began meeting with program founder David Leventhal every week. She learned that movement, especially when paired with music, works to change the neural pathways—it bypasses the part of the brain deteriorated by Parkinson’s.
“And next time they can’t do something like reach a can of soup, they might have the rhythm and music in their head and they’ll do salsa fingers, and they’ll grab that can. It’s incredible,” said Liz.
The current core group (Sondra and Arnold Shryock, Troy and Ann Smith, and Barbara Morgan and Kurt Martyn) have all celebrated over 50 years of marriage. “To have the opportunity to come as a couple is a real gift,” Georgiann said.
The Boise program is unique in that it encourages care partners to participate in the class. “It happened organically, and it has been really special,” said Liz. “It has been really beautiful to see relationships change and evolve, even as a person might deteriorate with this disease. There are moments in class when two people connect—they lock eyes and nothing has changed. They’re 25 again.”
Parkinson’s disease affects everyone differently, although freezes and stiffness occur frequently. Sometimes, facial or vocal muscles are affected, which makes talking difficult. Some are more impacted in the body. But through movement, Liz explained, they communicate. “It’s a different language,” she said.
Nate Powell, who showed up fresh off a plane that brings him home from a performance, glided into class where he, urged by the participants, kissed Sarah, his wife. They didn’t miss a beat.
“I remember a couple who came to class, and his Parkinson’s was quite progressed—he was just sitting in a chair, but it was something they could do together. He was an avid fisherman, and during an improv exercise, which he usually didn’t participate in, he lifted his arms as though to cast. Usually, he wasn’t moving, but he was hearing. That moment was so important to him and to his wife,” recalled Georgiann.
The class, currently taught by Sarah Powell, Nate Powell, and Adrienne Kerr, begins seated and follows the dancers. Sometimes they’ll spend significant time on their feet, but other days the energy is different.
“We’re structured toward anyone with any type of movement,” Nate explained.
And each instructor brings something special. Sarah, who enjoys the feeling of connectedness the class creates, brings a gentle energy that participants enjoy. Adrienne offers the kind of encouragement that motivates dancers to reach just a little higher, and Nate leads the group on wild adventures.
“When we (the teachers) have something going on in our lives—a performance or something else—those moves work their way into class. One day we are birds, or we’re swimming,” Nate said. “It gives us a chance to be as expressive as possible.”
Right now, about ten people attend class, but that number has been as high as 30 or so. When Dance for Parkinson’s Idaho began, the Northwest Parkinson’s Foundation had a larger presence in Idaho, and hosted a caregiver conference that made it easier to get the word out.
The goal, along with adding a class at the VA, is to grow the group. Liz also dreams of coordinating with assisted living facilities to provide travel for residents, and, through a collaboration with Boise State University, is bringing back live musicians to accompany the class in real time.
Georgiann explained that, although it can be difficult to watch people decline, the goodness that comes from the class is what she’s left with. “I just feel very blessed,” she said.
For Sondra, the class means that she’s able to fight Parkinson’s, in part, through dance. Arnold said that there’s a difference in the way she moves now. The ball, so heavy that first go round, is now light as air.
For more information, visit http://www.danceforparkinsonsidaho.org/
