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Understanding Quality of Life Through the Experiences of Dancers with Parkinson’s

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Book cover Dance and the Quality of Life

Part of the book series: Social Indicators Research Series ((SINS,volume 73))

Abstract

Parkinson’s is a common neurodegenerative, chronic disease, typically striking after 50. It is a condition that affects body functioning, as well as emotional and social aspects of life. Many people living with Parkinson’s struggle to maintain or develop their quality of life. As a means to improve quality of life and health, there is much interest in dancing. Enjoyment and help with some symptoms of Parkinson’s are two primary reasons for dancing, and some participants also feel that it gives them a sense of control over their life. The chapter discusses two questions: (1) Can we talk about quality of life as something influenced by dance in a context where there are multiple variables? (2) What does it mean to have quality of life through dance when one has a chronic degenerative disease? The chapter examines the methods used to claim quality of life or the lack of it in the context of researching a dance project and uses our own research project with English National Ballet Dance for Parkinson’s programme as an example to tease out the issues.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Roehampton University, London, UK

    Sara Houston & Ashley McGill

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  1. Sara Houston
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  2. Ashley McGill
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Correspondence to Sara Houston .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dance, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Karen Bond

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Houston, S., McGill, A. (2019). Understanding Quality of Life Through the Experiences of Dancers with Parkinson’s. In: Bond, K. (eds) Dance and the Quality of Life. Social Indicators Research Series, vol 73. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95699-2_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95699-2_16

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-95698-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-95699-2

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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