Effects of Improvisational Dance Movement Therapy on Balance and Cognition in Parkinson’s Disease

Aims: This study examined the effects of group improvisational Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) on balance and cognition in people with Parkinson’s disease.Methods: Ten community-dwelling adults (mean age 66 years old) with mid to severe-stage Parkinson’s disease completed a 10-week DMT series with an emphasis on improvisational dance.Results: Following the dance intervention, we found a significant increase in total score on the BESTest measure of balance (t = 2.39, p = <0.0001, pretest = 79.1 ± 2.88% vs. post-test = 92.1 ± 2.18%) as well as a significant increase in the total score on the SCOPA-Cog measure of cognition (t = 2.575, p = 0.0299, pretest = 56.7 ± 3.73% vs. post-test = 62.2 ± 4.43%), particularly in the executive function task.Conclusion: Dance movement therapy with an emphasis on improvisational dance resulted in functional gains in balance and cognition for people with Parkinson’s disease and merits further exploration.