Dance Party for Parkinson's helps raises money and awareness: "I feel like I'm flying"
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- There's a special kind of dance class for people with Parkinson's disease that's fun and helps improve movement and balance problems.
Research shows structured movements like boxing and dancing can help people with the degenerative brain disorder and it's a nice distraction, too.
Suzanne Posner was diagnosed more than 10 years ago.
"Exhaustion? Freezing, not being able to move, and a little bit of extra movement," she said.
Dealing with her daily struggles she's been coming to this class for years.
"When I can walk, well, I feel like I'm dancing and when I can dance, I feel like I'm flying," Posner said.
"We are here to inspire, to motivate, and to tell people that it's not the end to have this disease," Beth Hochstein said.
Hochstein, who was diagnosed at 37, started the nonprofit organization, Dance Party For Parkinson's, to raise money and awareness. She is now 51.
"Dance really has truly helped my progression of symptoms," Hochstein said. "You have to keep moving and you have to keep, you know, having a positive attitude."
"Dance is repetitious. So it makes it easier to do," Nathan Blake said.
Instructor Blake said the class addresses balance, strength and stamina.
"Making sure that they have a good warm-up, something with their hands, not necessarily so much choreography," Blake said.
Michael Fries, 82, just started coming to the dance party.
"The music brings back a lot of memories from when I was a kid," he said.
And he's grateful to spend time with others who are moving forward with the disease.
"I never really danced, but here I'm like motivated, Fries said. "Some days I have good days and bad days and you just gotta keep plugging along," Fries said.
Symptoms of Parkinson's can range from mild to severe.
It's estimated nearly a million people in the United States are living with it, the cause is unknown.
