PRINCETON UNIVERSITY CONCERTS EXPLORES THE INTERSECTION OF PARKINSON’S DISEASE, MUSIC, AND DANCE

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY CONCERTS

EXPLORES THE INTERSECTION OF PARKINSON’S DISEASE, MUSIC, AND DANCE

Princeton University Concerts’ Healing with Music series continues on Sunday, March 3, 2024 with an experiential panel discussion with live dance and music, as well as community events with local organizations.

PRINCETON, NJ – Princeton University Concerts (PUC) continues its Healing with Music series and affiliated community events in the coming weeks with opportunities to explore the relationship between music, movement, and the brain. On Sunday, March 3, 2024 at 3PM, PUC will host Healing with Music: Dance for PD® (Parkinson’s Disease), an experiential panel exploring the intersection of music, dance, and Parkinson’s at Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall on the Princeton University campus. As an extension of this event, Princeton University Concerts has teamed up with American Repertory Ballet to offer a new local chapter of free Dance for PD® classes, the Princeton Public Library to offer book group discussions related to this topic, and the Princeton Garden Theatre to offer a screening of Capturing Grace, a documentary about Dance for PD®, along with a post-screening talk by director Dave Iverson.

Healing with Music: Dance for PD® Event Exploring the Intersection of Music, Dance, and Parkinson’s

The Princeton University Concerts Healing with Music event on Sunday, March 3, 2024 at 3PM will incorporate a panel discussion and a dance demonstration to live music highlighting the internationally-renowned Dance for PD® program of the Mark Morris Dance Group which offers specialized dance classes for people with Parkinson’s. Its founding teacher and Program Director David Leventhal will lead Dr. Connie Tomaino, Institute for Music and Neurologic Function Co-Founder, Princeton University Professor Elizabeth Margulis, Princeton Music Cognition Lab Director, and Dave Iverson, Capturing Grace documentary director, in discussion around the role of music and dance in Parkinson’s therapy and some of the neuroscience behind this impactful approach. Participants from the local Dance for PD® chapter at the American Repertory Ballet school in Princeton will present Mark Morris choreography adapted for individuals with Parkinson’s and their caregivers from his piece Falling Down Stairs set to the Bourrée from the Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major BWV 1009 by J.S. Bach, which will be played live by PUC fan-favorite cellist Joshua Roman. These local Dance for PD® participants have been taking weekly class at Princeton Ballet School, the official school of American Repertory Ballet (ARB).

“It’s been an honor to gain a better understanding of the ethos and methodology of the Dance for PD® program through Program Director David Leventhal,” says PUC Outreach Manager Dasha Koltunyuk. “David approaches his work with the Parkinson’s community with such passion, care, and joy. Joy is not a word that I think most of us associate with Parkinson’s, but it was palpable in the recent Dance for PD® class at Princeton Ballet School which I had the honor of attending. Moving to music together creates community, and for those with Parkinson’s, it creates a physical and emotional freedom that is not otherwise always available.

“I am excited to watch these local Dance for PD® participants move to Bach’s beautiful music. Cellist Joshua Roman most recently appeared at PUC as part of last season’s Healing with Music series in an unforgettable evening about his journey with Long-COVID (an evening which spurred his ongoing artistic endeavor, The Immunity Project). We’re so glad to have Joshua back on the series to engage with music’s healing power in an entirely different capacity—providing the music for joyous movement.”

Healing with Music Together: Companion Community Programs

On Wednesday, February 28, 2024 the Princeton Public Library will host two free book group discussions about Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks—one in-person at the Princeton Public Library at 10:30AM, and the other at 7PM over Zoom. Through a collection of short essays, neurologist Oliver Sacks explores the place music occupies in the brain and how it affects the human condition. The discussions will be led by Healing with Music event panelist Dr. Connie Tomaino, Sacks’ fellow co-founder of the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function, to whom the book is dedicated. Please visit princetonlibrary.org or call 609-924-9529 for details and to register.

On Monday, March 4, 2024 at 7PM, the Princeton Garden Theatre and PUC will offer an opportunity to learn more about the Mark Morris Dance Group’s Dance for PD® program through a film screening of Capturing Grace and a post-screening talkback with director and Dance for PD® participant Dave Iverson. Capturing Grace is an award-winning documentary that follows individuals with Parkinson’s as they prepare to stage a first-ever dance performance. Through determination, adversity, and contending with doubt, the film highlights the transformative power of art and the strength of the human spirit. Please visit princetongardentheeatre.org or call 609-279-1999 for further details and tickets.

Princeton University Concerts (PUC) + Princeton Garden Theatre