New Orleans is home to a new community dance program thanks to the Ballet Association (NOBA) and the New Orleans Jewish Community Center. Dance for Parkinson’s is designed to empower Louisiana residents with Parkinson’s Disease to explore movement and music in ways that are stimulating and creative, all in a safe and welcoming environment for participants and their friends, family and caregivers.

The only program of its kind currently active in Louisiana, NOBA’s newest community dance program is modeled after the Mark Morris Dance Group’s Dance for PD, which launched in 2001. Having expanded to a network of affiliates in more than 20 countries around the world, Dance for PD’s influence has inspired NOBA to extend its reach even farther to allow people with Parkinson’s to experience the joys and benefits of dance, while creatively addressing symptom-specific concerns related to balance, cognition, motor skill, depression and physical confidence.

The Dance for Parkinson’s Program is presented by the Oscar J. Tolmas Charitable Trust and 2017 classes take place October 4 – December 13, and offer free, specialized, weekly dance classes accompanied by live music on Wednesdays from 11:00am-12:15pm at the JCC-Uptown, located at 5342 St. Charles Avenue. For more information or to register, visit www.nobadance.com.