12 hour Dance-a-Thon fundraiser celebrates 12 years of Parkinson's Dance

Pavilion Dance celebrates 12 years of Fun Fridays at Parkinson’s Dance classes with a 12 hour Dance-a-thon fundraiser raising over £1600!

A small but mighty team of 6 from Pavilion Dance embarked on a 12 hour Dance-a-thon on Friday 13th September 2024 from 7am to 7pm to celebrate 12 years of Parkinson’s Dance classes and raise funds to support the class into the future.  Donations enable us to keep the class running and support carers going free with participants.  It will also support ongoing research into Parkinson’s Dance Science – the model that the classes are based on created by Dr Sophia Hulbert and Aimee Hobbs – both of whom danced for the whole 12 hours!

Starting on the beach at 7am we had a warm up by the sea, a paddle and dance in the surf followed by a whole day of dance sessions, classes and movement including: A Conga around the venue with our Parkinson’s Dance class,  The Can Can with our Burlesque Class, Street Dance with our Classes producer Katie Ward, a bit of Tik Tok fave Texas Hold’em by Beyonce, some giggles and moves with our Mature Movers class and some cheesey dance floor classics including Oops Upside Your Head, YMCA, Spice Girls, Birdie Song and many many more! We were ‘Living on a Prayer’ when we were ‘Halfway There’…..but thankfully we all made it to 7pm with a smile and a shimmy!

The team included: Lisa Lort, Wellbeing producer, Aimee Hobbs, Parkinson’s Dance teacher and creator, Dr Sophia Hulbert, Parkinson’s Dance Science model creator, Sammy Gillingham, Parkinson’s Dance teacher, Naomi Dickens, Finance Manager and Caron Ward, Marketing and Comms Manager.

So far we’ve raised over £1600 with donations still welcome here: https://www.givey.com/paviliondancesouthwestparkinsons

More about Parkinson’s Dance

Established in 2012, our weekly fun Friday Parkinson’s Dance class supports those living with Parkinson’s to enjoy the social, fun and creative benefits of dance.  Classes are based on the Parkinson’s Dance Science approach, co-founded by Neuro-physiotherapist Dr Sophia Hulbert and dance artist Aimee Hobbs, with support from Pavilion Dance. It combines physiotherapeutic effect, research evidence and the artistic experience of dance to address Parkinson’s symptoms in a fun, social and creative way.