Dear DWP Community,
As we approach DWP's anniversary, I find myself reflecting back over the past 15 years, humbled by the strong community that we have created together. Looking forward to the month ahead, our team has been dreaming up what we know will be a magical 15th anniversary celebration—we can't wait to share it all with you!
For those of you who might not know our story, DWP was born in March 2007 as I transitioned from a fulfilling career as a professional dancer into working as a personal trainer. One of my clients was Andy Barrie, host of CBC Metro Morning, who had recently been diagnosed with PD. Little did I know that meeting Andy would change my life's trajectory in a profound way. (To read more about DWP’s beginnings, click here.)
I began offering free classes for those with PD in March 2008, and now, 15 years later, here we are…dancing with thousands of seniors and those living with PD across the country, 365 days a year.
Every day I am reminded of the power of our purpose: not only do we benefit from the joy and pleasure of dance, but the feelings of family, love, connection and genuine openness are an example of raw and warm humanism.
February is going to be an exciting month of workshops and creative experiences – so many of which will pique our curiosity and build excitement for our grand anniversary celebration on March 5th: “You Got Me Dancing: DWP + The Music of Leonard Cohen” at the AGO!
Please consider helping us raise funds and awareness so that we can continue to offer free dance classes for people living with Parkinson's disease and seniors. Every person who creates a fundraising page is invited to attend the event in person or on Zoom. We can’t wait to welcome you and celebrate together on March 5th!
It has been nothing short of an absolute privilege to share the joy and benefits of dance with you over the years. I have no doubt that where we are headed will be just as magical, powerful and impactful.
With gratitude,
Sarah
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Virtual Tour @ the AGO
Get a "behind the scenes" tour of the exhibit that inspired the theme of our 15th Anniversary celebration! Led by one of the AGO's art educators, this virtual tour of Leonard Cohen: Everybody Knows will highlight selected archival materials, photographs and artworks featured in the exhibition, and share insights about the power of Leonard Cohen's poetry and music.
Date: Thursday, February 16th
Time: 11:30 am on Zoom immediately following our Daily Dance Connect class.
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Poetry Workshop with Fan Wu
Performance artist and poet Fan Wu has been deeply inspired by the sacred & irreverent beauty of Leonard Cohen's poetry and music, and is thrilled to lead another poetry and movement workshop with the DWP community! Fan will share a selection of Leonard Cohen's poems and their connections to movement, and then guide us through the creation of collective poetry and improvisations.
Date: Wednesday, March 1st
Time: 11:30 am on Zoom immediately following our Daily Dance Connect class.
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15th Anniversary Dance Practice
Renowned choreographer, Guillaume Côté, has created a powerful piece to Leonard Cohen’s poem “A Thousand Kisses Deep”, which has been adapted by DWP’s wonderful friend, supporter and incredible dancer, Anisa Tejpar, for our community. Throughout the month of February, after class, instructors will teach this special choreography which we will perform as part of our upcoming 15th anniversary celebration event!
Dates: Tuesday, February 7th and February 21st
Time: 11:30 am on Zoom immediately following our Daily Dance Connect class.
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We are excited to start a new in-person class in collaboration with the Friends of Regent Park! This weekly class is open to all seniors in the Regent Park community.
Date: Wednesdays
Time: 3:00 - 4:00 pm
Location: 252 Sackville Street, 7th floor
To learn more and to register, please email register@dancingwithparkinsons.com.
We look forward to dancing with you!
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DWP is passionate about sharing our fun and beneficial program with new dancers near and far by offering free demo classes everywhere! To inquire about a demo class for your group, please email us.
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Meditation with Jules
On Tuesday, January 24th, Jules Lawrence, an innovative health and wellness practitioner, lead us through a 30-minute meditation. We explored some gentle seated yoga to awaken the spine, breath work to come into the body and calm the mind, and a guided meditation to practice presence.
Jules says we should try to sit quietly and breathe intentionally for 2 minutes every day. You can listen to Jules' meditation anytime with this recording from our session together. Click here!
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Making Healthy Food Choices Workshop
In partnership with the Health Commons Solutions Lab's Neighbours Initiative, and specially developed by renowned wellness chef Geremy Capone, this first in our series of three cooking workshops will introduce easy one-pot recipes, and inspire us to get creative with simple and nutritious meals!
Dates: Wednesday, February 15th, March 22nd, April 19th
Time: 11:30 am - 12:15 pm
We hope you will join us!
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Ana Maria shared beautiful images, powerful music and the fascinating and important history of the stolen lands and legacy of Indigenous people of South America. Her presentation was followed by a lively and engaging Q&A and conversation.
Thank you Ana Maria -- we loved learning from you!
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We had a very special opportunity to hear from Marjorie who shared incredible stories and stunning photos of her 2019 excursion through the Northwest Passage with Adventure Canada. After, the DWP Community discussed their travels and shared experiences.
Marjorie will be returning to the Arctic in July for yet another fantastic adventure!
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In January we got together at Trinity St. Paul for an in-person dance class led by Sarah and a photo shoot! We had a fantastic time connecting as a community, moving to Bob's music and taking photos for our new website coming soon! Thank you for joining us!
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Ana-Maria introduced her January 17th "Slice of Life" presentation on the stolen lands and legacy of Indigenous people of South America with the well-known song "El Condor Pasa". During our next daily dance class, Sarah played this much-loved classic for us to dance to together.
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We are grateful to our invaluable partners who help us to reach people living with Parkinson's and seniors in the communities in which we are working. The Neighbours Group and Health Commons Solutions Lab have been paramount in developing fun, creative and important programming to share with our participants. This month's "Making Healthy Food Choices" workshop has been made possible thanks to our partnership with The Neighbours Group and Health Commons Solutions Lab. Learn more about their work here.
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Check out this incredibly powerful video featuring our partner Sanjeev Sridharan, founder of The Evaluation Centre for Complex Health Interventions, speaking to the inclusivity and power of the DWP program.
We are so grateful to Sanjeev and his team at TECCHI for their ongoing evaluative efforts ensuring that DWP is offering a gold standard in programming that is inclusive and accessible for all. We are undergoing our third evaluation with TECCHI, and with 230 responses to our survey, we are well-informed to implement best practices resulting in our ability to offer the best program possible for our participants.
Thank you for taking the time to complete our survey! You are our best teachers and we continue to learn from you, each and every day.
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DWP’s founder, Sarah Robichaud was recently featured on ZOOMER radio! Listen here as Sarah shares her boundless energy and passion for this important and transformative work, which she calls “literally the best job on the face of the earth.”
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This month, DWP's work was covered by Beach Metro. Complete with shares from Paul Clancy, a DWP dancer in the east end, and DWP's own instructor, Claire Wooten, who leads programs in the local area, this article captures the power and possibility of dance. Read more here!
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In March 2023, DWP will celebrate 15 years of bringing those living with Parkinson's disease and all seniors out of isolation and into an artistic community where they can dance and connect with others. See where it all started with the first class, fundraisers, interviews and of course dancing and experience the joy the DWP program as brought to so many lives!
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“Not only are the workouts varied and challenging, but the community is exceptionally wonderful.“
- DWP Participant
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"The DWP team has created something miraculously special - and I can’t express my deep gratitude enough.”
- DWP Participant
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