1) As people with Parkinson’s suffer from physical affects such as rigidity, speech difficulty, poor balance & coordination, slowness of movement, anxiety & depression, a lack of exercise exacerbates & quickens physical decline. Lockdown has reduced numbers of those with Parkinson’s able to exercise effectively. 2) 72% said socialising had become more difficult during restrictions. Lack of social contact and loneliness was devastating and has left people fearful of returning to usual classes.

Ascendance will continue to run a regular timetable of zoom dance and singing classes to overcome the above problems. This means that Parkinson’s participants can continue to enjoy the benefits of daily dance exercise: 1) to help prevent the progression of their disease; and 2), offer important social contact to support their physical & mental health needs. This provision includes a new HYBRID class where people can choose to zoom into the studio or attend the face to face class.