MMDG/NYCHA Partnership

In cooperation with the New York City Housing Authority, the MMDG/NYCHA Partnership provides free dance classes to youth and senior residents of Brooklyn public housing with the goal of increasing the residents' interest and comfort with the arts. Weekly classes, taught by Dawn Quigley and Wayne Daniels, serve forty-five children and teens, and create an opportunity for consistent contact with the arts and professional artists. Thirty-five seniors are led through professional dance techniques by MMDG company member Joe Bowie, and are accompanied by a pianist in bi-monthly classes.

For more information, contact Outreach Director Eva Nichols by telephone at 718.624.8400, or by email at eva@mmdg.org

Mark Morris Dance, Music & Literacy Project

MMDG conducts in-school residences to introduce Brooklyn school children to the performing and visual arts using one of Mark Morris' most acclaimed evening length works - L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato. Mr. Morris created his dance by "collaborating" with three long-dead artists: the composer G.F. Handel, the poet John Milton, and the artist William Blake. This creative effort, spanning 350 years, is a perfect starting point for learning about the interaction of words, music, and dance.

Working with live musicians, MMDG teaching artist, Mireille Radwan-Dana Obert guides students through the poems, the music, and the choreography. Students learn to dance sections of the piece and also learn to create original dances. The residency culminates with a visit to the Mark Morris Dance Center for a private performance and conversation with the Dance Group.

MMDG collaborates with faculty from each host school to shape the residency, which emphasizes "curriculum connections" with English, the arts, music, social studies, and math. MMDG provides faculty with a study guide, books, and videos, and confers with them throughout the process.

For more information, contact Outreach Director Eva Nichols by telephone at 718.624.8400, or by email at eva@mmdg.org

Dance for PD℠

Dance for PD℠ is an on-going collaboration between the Mark Morris Dance Group (MMDG) and the Brooklyn Parkinson Group (BPG), a chapter of the National Parkinson Foundation. MMDG/BPG started offering free dance classes for people with Parkinson's in 2001 after BPG's Executive Director Olie Westheimer approached MMDG with the initial idea for a class. Since 2005, the two organizations have expanded the Dance for PD program into more than 20 other communities around the world by engaging participants in Dance for PD℠ master classes, training teachers through intensive workshops, and nurturing relationships among organizations so that ongoing classes are available to local communities.

The Dance for PD℠ teaching method is built on a fundamental premise: professionally-trained dancers are movement experts whose knowledge is useful to persons with PD. Dancers know all about stretching and strengthening muscles, and about balance and rhythm. Most importantly, dancers know about the power of dance to concentrate mind, body, and emotion on movement; they use their thoughts, imagination, eyes, ears, and touch to control their bodies. Dance for PD℠ teaching artists integrate movement from modern and theater dance, ballet, folk dance, tap, improvisation, and choreographic repertory to engage the participants' minds and bodies, and create an enjoyable social environment that emphasizes dancing for dancing's sake. The dance class is an aesthetic experience that focuses on developing artistry and grace while addressing such PD-specific concerns as balance, flexibility, coordination, gait, social isolation, and depression.

The method has been presented at the International Congress for Parkinson’s Disease and Related Disorders in Berlin (2005), the World Parkinson Congress in Washington, D.C. (2006) and at Neuroscience 2008 in Washington D.C. Articles about the class have appeared in USA Today, Neurology Now, The New York Times, and Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation among other publications, and the class has been featured on NPR's All Things Considered, PBS Frontline and CBS. Dance for PD was featured as a model program at the 2010 Society for the Arts in Healthcare 21st Annual International Conference. The teaching points have been condensed into the DVD entitled “Why Dance for Parkinson’s Disease?” (2009). David Leventhal, John Heginbotham, and Misty Owens, the program's founding teachers, work with Ms. Westheimer, Dr. Ivan Bodis-Wollner, Director of the Parkinson's Disease and Related Disorders Clinic, Center of Excellence, at Kings County Hospital, and Eva Nichols, MMDG's Outreach Director, to develop the curriculum, design specialized training programs, and coordinate the development of new classes. Dr. Bodis-Wollner is Medical Director of Dance for PD℠.

In addition to hosting a weekly class for 50 participants at the Mark Morris Dance Center in Brooklyn, NY, MMDG/BPG have offered Dance for PD℠ classes to communities in San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Louisville, Ann Arbor, Seattle, Urbana-Champaign, Toronto, Edinburgh, London, Auckland, and Tel Aviv, among others. Such medical centers as Evergreen Hospital (Seattle), Jewish Hospital/Frazier Rehabilitation Institute (Louisville), Carle Hospital (Champaign-Urbana), and Beth Israel Deaconess (Boston) have hosted demonstration classes in their facilities.

Since 2007, MMDG/BPG have sponsored more than seven teacher training workshops, which have led to the replication of Dance for PD℠ classes in 12 states throughout the United States, and in Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom. In response to requests from people with Parkinson's, PD support organizations, and dance professionals, regular training workshops, program replication in 10-15 additional communities, and dedicated website with comprehensive resources are currently in development.

For more information about the program, please email Eva Nichols or call 646.450.DFPD (3373).

Why Dance for Parkinson's Disease? Below are few Press-related reasons:
The Official Promotional Video about our Dance for PD classes
Special Report on All Things Considered, NPR
New Zealand News report (click on 'Related Video' Medicinal magic of dance)
The ABC News report
2010 special report from the Boston Globe
Also, a personal view of DANCE FOR PD by Joy Esterberg

Open House

Once a year, the Dance Center opens its doors to the general public for a full day of activities. Community members are invited to tour the building and participate in free dance classes.

Performances throughout the day by the student company as well as members of the Mark Morris Dance Group, raffle prizes, refreshments, films and music concerts attract over 300 guests each event. Open House 2010 will take place on Saturday, September 11.