The University of Nebraska at Omaha’s modern performing dance group, The Moving Company, and the College of Education have partnered with the Xandi Johnson Memorial Foundation to provide Reach For It, a free dance program for people with Parkinson’s disease and the elderly.
The Reach For It program was started by the former director of The Moving Company, Josie Metal-Corbin, according to current Moving Company director Danielle Laurion.
“She wanted to find a way to offer some dance assistance classes for people who had Parkinson’s,” Laurion said.
A grant was secured with the help of Omaha dancer Kathy Howard. Laurion said the program has since been running for around eight years.
“It’s designed to allow the body and mind to connect through dance and movement,” Laurion said, “so that people with Parkinson’s can maintain some of their mobility and delay the disease.”
For Reach For It participants such as Marjorie Naraine, attending classes has enabled her to improve her mobility.
“It’s very beneficial,” Naraine said. “It enhances your mobility, and its very interesting because there are various movements that help with various parts of the body.”
Naraine, who has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, decided to attend a class after reading about it in the Omaha World-Herald and has had a positive experience with the program.
“I do miss it when we’re on recession,” Naraine said. “I try to recommend it to anybody that I have known but I don’t know too many people because I’m not that mobile.”
Laurion said Reach For It also provides participants with “a social aspect … to find people within the community to move with, socialize and communicate with.”
Reach For It was originally held in UNO’s Welcome Center. UNO’s biomechanics students came in and performed testing on the clients during the pilot program to track their progress.
“They found some improvements in the width of their steps and their ability to get up and go,” Laurion said.
The program was moved to the Jewish Community Center for a short time before being held at the HPER dance lab. Reach For It is now held at the New Cassel Retirement Center.
“It was kind of intimidating for people to come to UNO’s campus knowing the parking situation even though we had reserved some spots,” Laurion said. “We moved over to New Cassel and that seems to be a more inviting environment for people with Parkinson’s to come to the class.”
The move to New Cassel has helped the Reach For It program meet a wider audience.
“This summer was the first time that we moved over there, and so we have a lot of the residences in New Cassel joining in on the class,” Laurion said. “Right now, we’re about 50-50 when it comes from people outside of New Cassel coming to the class and those that are residents as well.”
Laurion said Reach For It recently became a free class thanks to a donation from the Xandi Johnson Memorial Foundation.
“Xandi Johnson was one of our original members of the class and someone I worked closely with with movement,” Laurion said.
“When she passed away from Parkinson’s, her husband, Chuck Johnson, wanted to make sure that the class could continue and set up a memorial fund in her name.”
Laurion said with the contribution from the Xandi Johnson Memorial Fund and with New Cassel allowing Reach For It to use their space for free, the class is more accessible.
“Now that it doesn’t cost anything, I think it’s even more accessible than it was.”
Reach For It classes start Sept. 16 and will take place every Friday from 3:30-4:30 p.m. until Nov. 18. No classes will be held on Oct. 18 or Nov. 4, according to UNO’s website.
Laurion said UNO’s chapter of the National Student Speech Language and Hearing Association will be available to help those in need of their services.
http://unothegateway.com/movement-fights-parkinsons-reach-dance-program/
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