Wearing all black and sitting on a tufted white ottoman in her sunlit living room, Sarah Robichaud is teaching a routine inspired by modern ballet to 80 students on Zoom. The Bolshoi-trained dancer spreads her arms wide in exaggerated movements to a slow cover of The Proclaimers’ “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” as her students get into the groove.
“We’re just going to start with a gentle, gentle sway, back and forth,” Robichaud says to the group. “I want you to think that there’s a thread attached to your wrist and someone’s pulling that thread from side to side.” Many of her students are seated as well. More than half of them have Parkinson’s disease and typically movement can be difficult, but when they try to mirror her fluid and graceful movements, a look of ease comes over them.
Growing evidence shows that dancing can boost brain health and help manage symptoms of neurocognitive and movement disorders, including Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis (MS), Alzheimer’s, dementia and brain injury. For example, a 2021 York University study showed that weekly dance training improved motor function and daily living for those with mild to moderate Parkinson’s. This piggybacks on other findings that show how activities that target balance, coordination, flexibility, creativity and memory work can improve Parkinson’s symptoms.
Robichaud started Dancing with Parkinson’s in 2007 as a way to give back to her community. A few years later, her grandfather was diagnosed with the disease. Robichaud was able to dance with him in his long-term care home until his final days.
“The compassion and care that I have for our dancers is that they’re all my grandfather,” she says.
Recently, one of her students, a man in his 50s who had been adamant that dancing wasn’t for him, said that he now has more dexterity in his hands and generally moves more freely.
“I can’t deny how this is changing my life,” he told her.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
From the King's Table to Street Food: A Food History of Delhi
Pushpesh Pant, one of India’s pre-eminent food writers, is back with a comprehensive food history of the capital.
Who Wants Coffee?
It’s bitter—but beloved around the world
Prevent The Pain Of Shingles
You don't have to suffer, as long as you take two important steps
The Best And Worst Diets For Your Heart
Dozens of diets are touted as ‘best’, but it’s easy to lose track of the fact that healthy eating needs to be about overall wellness, not just weight loss.
ME & MY SHELF
Journalist Sopan Joshi has worked in a science and environment framework for nearly three decades. His book Mangifera indica: A Biography of the Mango (Aleph Book Company) synthesizes the sensory appeal of India's favourite fruit with its elaborate cultural roots and natural history. He writes in English and Hindi.
SWITCHED
In 1962, nurses at a small Canadian hospital sent home two women with the wrong babies. Then, 50 years later, their children discovered the shocking mistake.
ECHOES OF THE PAST
A VISIT TO THE ANCIENT BARABAR CAVES IN BIHAR REVEALS A SURPRISING CONNECTION TO A LITERARY CLASSIC
Fathers of the Bride
A young woman finds a unique way to honour the many men who helped her survive her childhood
Fiction's Foresight
British-Bangladeshi author Manzu Islam's works reveal startling parallels to recent political upheavals in Bangladesh, begging the question: Besides helping us make sense of our world, can stories also offer a glimpse into the future?
It Happens ONLY IN INDIA
The Divine Defence Picture this: A tractor in Rajasthan‘s Banswara district,a group of loan agents closing in to seize it and the defaulting farmer and his family standing by.
