Jean and Bill Swift have been dancing together for decades. But six years ago Jean was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and the couple thought their dancing days were over.

Jean says, “We used to dance but since we’ve come to Florida and I got the Parkinson’s there’s a lot of things we couldn’t do and dance was one of them.” Until Jean decided to try a different form of therapy, Life Movement Dance. Camelle Romero is the founder of the program and has been teaching Ballroom dancing for more than 30 years. She says, “We decided no we’re going to take it in a positive direction because our bodies are built of a lot of muscles and so we rebuild the student up and eventually get them to dance.” Jean says, “Camelle has really helped and she’s fun and it’s fun coming down here.”

When Jean first hit the dance floor post Parkinson’s her body was hunched over almost at a 45 degree angle. She thought, “I can’t even really stand up straight so how can I dance. She said well try it. At first I was taking my walker out there on the dance floor and I decided that I could hang onto my husband and I could stand up pretty good so we’ve been progressing pretty good. It’s just a whole new thing for us. It’s great.”

Jean and Bill are now going on cruises again and they were part of the Life Movement Dance Program’s annual dancer’s showcase. To learn more about how you can support the program contact the Lee Parkinson’s Outreach Center at 239-334-5883. It’s important to talk with your physician to see what types of physical therapy or experimental therapy may be right for you.