Dance Well – Movimento e ricerca per il Parkinson

Pesaro, the 2024 Italian Capital of Culture, will host Dance Well – Movement and Research for Parkinson’s until next spring. The project promotes the practice of contemporary dance within museums and artistic institutions for the benefit of people with Parkinson’s disease and individuals with reduced motor abilities. The initiative takes place at the Sala della Repubblica of the Rossini Theatre and at the Rossini National Museum, and is organised by the Municipality of Pesaro and AMAT, with the support of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Pesaro, in collaboration with the Marche Region, the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Parkinson Marche Association, the Rossini National Museum, Sistema Museo, and the University of Urbino “Carlo Bo” (Department of Communication Studies, Humanities and International Studies).

The city of Pesaro becomes—together with Recanati and Ascoli Piceno—a key hub for the dissemination of the Dance Well practice within the Marche region. Created in 2013 by the Municipality of Bassano del Grappa through the CSC – Centre for the Contemporary Scene, Dance Well – Research and Movement for Parkinson’s has expanded across Italy—Verona, Turin, Florence, Rome, Bergamo, Milan—and internationally, including Japan. The practice consists of free dance classes for people with Parkinson’s disease, now extended to broader local communities (family members, caregivers, older adults, and citizens), and takes place in artistic venues such as museums and galleries. The artistic setting is a distinctive element that differentiates Dance Well from traditional practices conducted in dance studios, gyms, or rehabilitation facilities. To emphasise its artistic nature, participants are referred to as Dance Well dancers. Classes are led by certified Dance Well teachers, who are free to employ diverse approaches, techniques, and styles through their artistic proposals, with a focus on developing expressive abilities for dance.

While Dance Well is an artistic practice, it incorporates various rehabilitative strategies, including aerobic exercise, motor imagery, cueing techniques, and proprioceptive and sensorimotor training, all of which have demonstrated positive effects on symptoms and on the quality of life of people with Parkinson’s. Collaboration with healthcare institutions that have supported and developed the programme has been crucial for its consolidation and ongoing refinement. In 2015, Dr Daniele Volpe, Director of the Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Centre at Villa Margherita (Arcugnano, VI), conducted a scientific study involving his patients, alternating Dance Well sessions with traditional rehabilitation. Data analysis suggested that Dance Well is comparable in effectiveness to standard rehabilitation, while offering enhanced emotional benefits. The practice has also been featured in Sara Houston’s Dancing with Parkinson’s (University of Roehampton) and in the World Health Organization’s publication on good artistic practices for psychosocial well-being. Recently, Dance Well received the 2023 Rete Critica Award.

A research team from the Department of Communication Studies, Humanities and International Studies at the University of Urbino Carlo Bo (led by Prof. Laura Gemini), in collaboration with AMAT, has selected Dance Well – Movement and Research for Parkinson’s as a case study within the national PRIN 2022–PNRR research project Cultural Welfare Ecosystems for Wellbeing: Mapping Semantics and Practices, Co-designing Tools and Raising Awareness. The project involves the University of Urbino as a local unit, with the University of Bologna serving as project coordinator (Principal Investigator: Prof. Roberta Paltrinieri). The objective of the Urbino unit is to conduct on-site observation of Dance Well as a best practice of cultural welfare in the Marche region.

Classes are held every Monday from 10:00 to 11:00 and are led by certified Dance Well teachers: Desirée Catone, Gloria De Angeli, Sara Gagliardini, Elda Gallo, Leila Ghiabbi, Anna Luna Javarone, Sara Lippi, Silvia Pipponzi, Sofia Magnani, Masako Matsushita, and Cecilia Ventriglia. Each class is free of charge and open to all, subject to availability, with no age restrictions; booking is recommended. Classes take place from October to December and from February to April at the Sala della Repubblica of the Rossini Theatre, and in November, January, and March at the Hall of Mirrors (Sala degli Specchi) of the Rossini National Museum.

For further information:
AMAT +39 071 2075880, c.tringali@amat.marche.it
Teatri di Pesaro +39 0721 387621, www.teatridipesaro.it