Edinburgh Dance Base
National Centre for Dance and Scottish Ballet Project
Dance and Parkinson’s Disease Scotland
About the Project:
In partnership with a range of organisations, Dance Base and Scottish Ballet have successfully secured funding to deliver Dance for Parkinson’s Disease. The programme aims to address Parkinson’s-specific physical and psychological issues through dance and music.
The programme will consist of the following key areas:
- An expert steering group consisting of dance specialists, arts and health professionals, clinicians, researchers and participants who will shape, lead, review and evaluate the project.
- The delivery of Continued Professional Development for dance artists and musicians.
- Weekly workshops in Glasgow and Edinburgh for people with Parkinson’s Disease, their caregivers, family members and their friends.
- A research element and full, formalised evaluation study, led by Dr Grosset, Consultant Neurologist at the Institute of Neurological Sciences, and Honorary Professor at the University of Glasgow.
Through this project, we aim to understand:
- The impact that the combined approach that ballet and creative contemporary dance has on people with Parkinson’s Disease.
- The physical, social and psychological impact this project has on people with Parkinson’s Disease, how it benefits and improves their quality of living everyday lives and whether it increases the range of life tools they can draw on, or develops their confidence.
- The impact and benefit the class has on friends, family members and caregivers of people with PD, and whether strategies used in classes can be used to support the people with PD on an ongoing basis.
- What the impact of using live music within the sessions has on people with PD and how it benefits participants.
- If resources allow, the impact this project has on people with PD, who also have cognitive impairment (a group often missed out of more traditional medical trials).
- Whether the medical and creative approach coupled together enhances the overall quality of life for people with Parkinson’s Disease, friends, family and caregivers.
- Whether the Dance and Parkinson’s Programme contributes towards the National Health Service in fulfilling its aims by contributing to processes that empower patients to deal with the condition.
- If dance can help participants with PD develop new pathways in the brain to counter the effects of the disease.