Dancing with Parkinson's Canada

15/02/2026

Spreading all the LOVE from our DWP family to you and yours! Happy Valentine's Day! 💘

Spreading all the LOVE from our DWP family to you and yours! Happy Valentine's Day!

12/02/2026

On April 10th, Dancing with Parkinson’s will bring together dancers, care partners, families, friends, students and supporters — in-person and online, from coast to coast — to raise $170,000 and ensure that more than 6,000 seniors and people living with Parkinson’s disease worldwide can continue to access movement, connection, and joy for free, every single day!

“Dance Me to DWP” is a signature intergenerational workshop celebrating the poetry and artistry of Leonard Cohen, brought to life through the electrifying movement and musicality of Ballets Jazz Montréal (BJM). Performers from BJM will lead DWP guests gathering at locations across the country and on Zoom from around the world through original choreography set to the music of this iconic Canadian legend.

We hope you will join us to celebrate 18 years of bringing people together, in-person and online, to build community, express creativity, and nurture belonging.

Click here to learn more about this very special event, and the many ways you can get involved: https://www.dancingwithparkinsons.com/dancemetodwp

06/02/2026

We love seeing the meaningful intersections between our friends and partners — working together to strengthen Parkinson’s research, care, and community.

Parkinson Canada recently announced new research funding through the Kanta Marwah Research Innovation Fund (KMRIF). Kanta, a regular and much-loved dancer who frequently logs into DWP’s Daily Dance Connect from Ottawa, established the fund to support high-impact research that addresses critical unmet needs for people living with Parkinson’s and helps accelerate discoveries from the lab to the clinic.

We were especially thrilled to share that the inaugural KMRIF grant was awarded to Dr. Lorraine Kalia, a brilliant neurologist and valued researcher on DWP’s Board of Directors, for her groundbreaking work exploring blood–brain barrier-crossing peptides as a potential treatment for Parkinson’s disease.

This powerful collaboration — rooted in community, research, and lived experience — is truly inspiring. Congratulations to all involved!

To learn more, click here: https://ow.ly/T9FT50Y9w87

05/02/2026

DWP's Founder and CEO, Sarah Robichaud, was proud to contribute to a recent study, "Dancing through time: Cognitive changes over six years of community dance in Parkinson's disease" in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

This important work explores how long-term participation in a weekly community dance program affects people living with Parkinson’s disease. Over six years, researchers found that those who danced regularly showed early improvements and better long-term stability in cognition and movement compared to those who were inactive, suggesting dance may help support brain health and mobility over time.

To read further, click here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13872877251393640

03/02/2026

On Wednesday, February 4th we look forward to welcoming Carol Williams-Wong who will share her experience writing five published memoirs, and how it has helped her connect with family and inspire others to share their stories. She will touch on her Chinese and Jamaican histories and cultural traditions, and will showcase how our DWP community can write their own memoir like she did, leaving a legacy for future generations and others to enjoy.

📣: "Passing on your Life Stories"
📅: Wednesday, February 4th
⏰: 11:30 am on Zoom, immediately following the Daily Dance Connect class
🔗: Register here: https://www.dancingwithparkinsons.com/senior-daily-dance-connect

We are very much looking forward to hearing from you, Carol!

30/01/2026

“Mime Over Mime” Workshop with Barbara and Sarah!

We are so grateful to Barbara and Sarah for sharing their love and expertise in therapeutic mime with the DWP team! What an inspiring opportunity to learn more about this powerful art form, and to discover how we can apply mime to our dance classes, thanks to support from the Parkinson Canada CARE Fund.

Rooted in centuries-old movement traditions, mime is emerging as an effective therapy for people living with Parkinson’s — supporting balance, gait, coordination, and everyday movement through imagery and motor memory.

We love seeing learning turn into action: Laetitia has already begun integrating these techniques into her Thornhill class this week, bringing fresh creative tools directly to our dancers!

Thank you again, Barbara and Sarah! We are so excited to continue sharing this expressive work across our DWP classes. 🩵

To see what we learned, click here: https://vimeo.com/1162254920?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

28/01/2026

Dance classes for people living with Parkinson's disease are coming to Vancouver!

We are so grateful to CBC Vancouver for helping us share the good news that DWP will soon be launching weekly classes for people living with PD, other neurodegenerative conditions and ALL seniors in Vancouver!

Our latest community class on Monday was another phenomenal success, made so by all of the wonderful dancers who joined us 🩵

Stay tuned for updates, and in the meantime, enjoy this inspiring clip from CBC Vancouver! https://youtu.be/84NzvRy13zo

27/01/2026

DWP Lights up the Stage at the Dance Manitoba Showcase!

DWP was proud to perform in the Dance Manitoba Showcase, led by our incredible Winnipeg-based instructor, Brenda Gorlick. These stunning photos snapped by Melvin Daligdig with Dance Manitoba perfectly captured the vibrant dance community that has grown in partnership with U-Turn Parkinson's.

Are you in the Winnipeg area? Come dance with us!

Day: Every Tuesday
Time: 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Location: Southdale Community Centre, 245 Lakewood Boulevard, Winnipeg

To learn more and register, visit: https://www.dancingwithparkinsons.com/dwp-u-turn-parkinsons-winnipeg

23/01/2026

We are THIS excited to dance with you today, Penticton!

Our newest weekly in-person class launches this afternoon in the Okanagan Valley!

Join us!

📅: Every Friday
⏰: 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
📍: Penticton Community Centre, 325 Power Street
🔗: Register here: https://www.dancingwithparkinsons.com/dwp-penticton-bc

🩵

21/01/2026

Dancing On and On in Peterborough!

It's so hard to say goodbye...and at a recent class in Peterborough these beautiful dancers decided not to leave — they just kept right on dancing, even as the chairs were being put away around them!

https://vimeo.com/1148076244?fl=tl&fe=ec

Are you in the Peterborough area? Come join the dance!

📍 : Canterbury Gardens, 1414 Sherbrooke Street, Peterborough
📅 : Tuesdays (excluding 3rd week of the month)
⏰ : 1:30 - 2:30 PM
🔗 : https://www.dancingwithparkinsons.com/dwp-peterborough

It's so hard to say goodbye...and at a recent class in Peterborough these beautiful dancers decided not to leave — they just kept right on dancing, even…

19/01/2026

✨ Please meet DWP's Newest Instructor, Donna Kozacks! ✨

Teaching with Dancing with Parkinson’s is deeply meaningful to Donna. As a lifelong educator, DWP resonates with her passion for creating inclusive learning spaces where everyone feels seen, supported, and empowered.

Through movement and dance, she is able to bring together her love of teaching with a belief that joy, creativity, and self-expression are essential to learning at every stage of life.

For Donna, DWP is not just a program — it is a calling that aligns with her commitment to accessibility, compassion, and celebrating the unique strengths of every learner.

We are the luckiest to have you joining our incredible team of instructors in Penticton, Donna! Thank you for sharing your gift!

19/01/2026

✨ Welcome Hailey McCloskey to DWP's Team of Teachers! ✨

Hailey is a dance artist and massage therapist based in Kelowna. Her training includes the School of Toronto Dance Theatre, the University of British Columbia (Anthropology), and OVCMT. For the past year and a half, she has been producing and teaching Contact Improvisation, building on over a decade of practice. She performed 22 Rooms at Living Things Festival 2025 and works as a performer, facilitator, and writer across British Columbia.

Having supported her father while he lived with Parkinson’s, Hailey says that dancing with the Penticton class in November moved her to tears and the opportunity to share the joy of movement feels like a true gift.

Hailey, YOU are such a gift to the Dancing with Parkinson's family! We are over the moon to have you joining our team of instructors!