作为一名专门从事相对较新的研究领域的学者，我必须对待我有点奇怪的人 - “你说你学习飞镖？”他们问，不可思议。“不，dance，我说，“我研究人们跳舞。”仍然很有趣。为什么有人想研究舞蹈？舞蹈很有趣，但这带有不认真的标签。

嗯，是。和不。我领导一个研究项目examining a dance programme in London, United Kingdom. Over five years of studying it, I have grown to realize that dancing may become very meaningful to people.

I study people dancing with帕金森氏病. Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative condition that gradually robs people of the ability to move well. Movement slows, muscles become rigid, posture is compromised. Often people develop a tremor, voices may diminish and depression is common. Physical and social worlds shrink as Parkinson’s progresses. Social isolation becomes a problem.

I was asked byEnglish National Ballet2010年，为帕金森氏症患者评估其为期12周的飞行舞蹈课。飞行员成为常规舞蹈计划，评估变成了一项为期三年的研究，并于2011年获得了BUPA基金会奖的支持。受控的，混合方法研究与舞者与帕金森氏舞者一起在伦敦，牛津和利物浦。

My team have measured changes to stride patterns, muscle rigidity and posture, we have measured balance confidence, fall rates and progression of Parkinson’s, we have interpreted people’s responses in their diaries, interviews and focus groups.

舞蹈节目是越来越多磨破之一ldwide offering dance, not as a therapy, but as art, to people with Parkinson’s. Participants learn adapted extracts from the company’s repertory, dancing to its music and create their own movement on the theme. They are given behind-the-scenes talks and treated to tickets to see the company perform.

You may have visions of ballerinas performing multiple pirouettes, of men leaping across the stage. A dance for Parkinson’s class doesn’t use the virtuosity of ballet, but it does use its principles: the outward focus, extension of arms and legs, pressure of the feet on the floor, lift of the torso, use of various movement qualities.

The sessions start seated in a circle. Everyone is included this way. Participants progress to standing, then move across the floor. There is a group dance. There is laughter and banter, but it is also serious. It takes concentration to achieve some of the exercises. Dancing demands sequencing and patterning of movement. It demands multitasking and focus. It invites interpretation and imagination.

It is perhaps an odd choice for a ballet company to offer classes for those with a movement disorder, but it was inspired by the successful programme in New York, run by the contemporary dance company, Mark Morris Dance Group. The programme is known asDance for PD它一直是帕金森舞在世界各地的舞蹈舞蹈的典范。

Dance for PDalso has trained dance teaching artists in over 12 countries, including many in the UK where a网络已建立以维持和发展实践。然而，这些成功的根源在于帕金森氏症人跳舞的人的决心。

我的研究参与者对跳舞充满热情，尽管有些人在被诊断之前从未考虑过。跳舞在身体，社会，情感和艺术上都在场。它是强大的。

Dancing is enjoyable exercise affecting people physically. Participants with Parkinson’s are able to move more fluidly to music, to perform more exact, more focused movement. They are able to put on clothes more easily up to two days after the class, reach tins from the top shelf. But these are short-term measures. Dancing does not cure Parkinson’s.

The real value of dancing resides in how it enables people to value themselves, to step out of the role of being a patient, to value their ability to create, rather than feel they have nothing to offer, to perceive themselves less disabled than their clinical profile indicates, to build relationships with others, to have the confidence to do other social activities. For one woman, it is about feeling beautiful again.

研究表明，舞蹈的价值是多方面的。这不仅是关于锻炼，还是与人见面。例如，我们没有预料到一些方面，例如，舞蹈对社会参与的影响。

In response to this, the next phase of the project will examine how dance might influence autonomy and participation in society. Patient autonomy is a hot topic for people with Parkinson’s. What if dancing helps with this? What if dancing helps people with Parkinson’s feel more empowered to decide how to live their life, to live well with Parkinson’s?