After 5 months of COVID-19, the curve is slowly flattening giving everyone breathing space to look at matters on hindsight. Unfortunately, the majority of the casualties from the pandemic is from the age range 42-96 years old – most of whom are immunocompromised because of pre-existing medical conditions. From this demographic also comes people who suffer from Parkinson’s Disease (PD).*
Parkinson’s Disease or simply Parkinson’s is a progressive, degenerative neurological condition that affects a person’s control of their body movements. Evidence from research suggests that exercise can improve some symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and improve their quality of life. This has prompted the group, Dance for Parkinson’s Australia in 2001 to provide the necessary activities to make the lives of people suffering from Parkinson’s a lot better gathering dancers from all over Australia who have a profound vocation to help through the art of dance.
One of these dance crusaders is former Ballet Philippines choreographer and principal dancer, Novy Bereber. Novy was one of the pioneer dance instructors who lent his expertise in helping people with “shaking palsy” (another term for Parkinson’s) feel better physically, mentally and emotionally. Before the lockdown, Novy would travel an hour and a half to meet his “students” in Penant Hills thrice a week. However, with the past strict lockdown laws, seniors were relegated to the four corners of their homes.
For the full updated article please visit:
https://australianfilipina.com.au/article/online-wellness-with-sayaw-pd-and-novy-bereber
