Quinte Ballet School to start a pilot project for Parkinson’s

By Deanna Fraser

BELLEVILLE – Laura Ryan, a dance graduate of Webster University in Missouri, is working with Quinte Ballet School of Canada to launch a 12-week pilot project called Dancing with Parkinson’s.

The program will run from March 2 to May 18. The class will be held on Thursday mornings from 11 a.m to noon at the ballet school on Palmer Road.

Ryan explained that the class will incorporate different styles of dance such as ballet, modern, tap, folk dance, group dance, the cha-cha and the waltz.

The classes are mainly for people living with Parkinson’s, and 20 spots are available. But their caregivers, family and friends can also participate.

“It creates community and it can create a special time with them,” Ryan said. “A lot of the time it can be hard for Parkinson’s patients to connect with people because they get so stuck inside their own bodies. So dancing is a way for them to be connected to other people again.”

Demand for the class is high, she said

Artistic director Catherine Taylor said she has wanted to start the classes since she joined the school four years ago.

“Somebody who was struggling with Parkinson’s asked if we had a classes,” she said.

“But I didn’t have any staff to get accredited for this type of specialized teaching, so I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if someone would come to Belleville?’ Well, you wait long enough and things happen.” This year Ryan, a dancer in the school’s modern class, approached Taylor with the idea.

“I almost jumped down her throat, I was so thrilled,” Taylor said.

She and Ryan want to share their school with the community, she said.

“We love to share the power and the joy of dance with others, whether it be through participation or observation. We want to show how great dancing can make you feel. It’s not just physical– it’s mental.”

Anyone is welcome to join, Ryan said.

“It’s all levels and all abilities. Classes can be modified. Maybe they can’t get out of their chair, so they can do the class sitting down.”

The program “does so much for people with Parkinson’s that normal exercise won’t. It requires you to think about moving your body in a different way. You use muscles you don’t use on an everyday basis.”