ASaP was delighted to have Pamela Quinn return to Brown to present to our class again. She spoke of her personal and professional experience with Parkinson’s disease. She took us through her time when her symptoms first appeared 25 years ago and described how she approached her own version of therapeutic movement which was informed by both her training in ballet and modern dance. After showing us examples of her choreography and how it was structured to make use of cues, she instructed the students to make their own short dances, each one including an audible, tactile and visual cue. We added music to those who wanted it. Imaginative and creative solutions came from all the groups as well as lots of smiles and laughter. They were fantastic.
The take away for the students was to encourage them to believe in their own convictions, however versed or new they are to a situation. That was key in Quinn’s own approach to her condition.
