I was a bit nervous about the idea of teaching a dance class online, but as the pandemic continued, I missed dancing and teaching, so much! So, I decided to give it a try! I had taught dance classes to adult beginners before and have advanced training to work with individuals with Parkinson’s Disease to provide rehabilitation services, but this was going to be a first – teaching dance online! The most challenging parts were ensuring that individuals were able to receive the link and keep the class going, even when technical glitches, such as the internet dropping, occurred. In the end, I achieved what I set out to do which was to teach Bollywood beginner dance moves to individuals diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease (and their caregivers). I was a bit surprised at how much more energy I needed to gather to engage the participants online, compared to in-person classes. I learned that teaching dance online is much more complicated than teaching dance in-person, as I don’t have mirrors to assist myself and the participants. I had quite a few memorable moments! In particular, I really enjoyed watching the participants master the routines and execute the moves to various songs, week after week, and see their confidence grow with these movements. We had a lot of fun and got some exercise, too! (I’m very grateful for our community partner Paradigm Shift who was able to rent me studio space, during this time of year.)
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