PD Movement Lab | from Parkinson's Coach Pamela Quinn

“Ooh Aah!” was a piece PD Movement Lab prepared for the opening ceremony of the 2019 World Parkinson’s Congress in Kyoto, Japan. The dance was set to the pounding rhythm of Taiko drums, and featured 40 people with Parkinson’s and 10 care givers from all over the world.

To create the dance, PD Movement Lab reached out with the WPC to

Yoshiko

Pam broke down the choreography of “Ooh Aah!” into a bite-sized video tutorials, which were then translated and sent out to the participants. The performers formed mini-rehearsal groups with other dancers who were geographically close to them. Each group learned a different part. The groups practiced the dance remotely in the month and a half leading up to the Congress, while Pam stayed in touch via email.

Many of them had never danced before. Upon re The performers formed mini-rehearsal groups with other dancers who were geographically close to them. Each group learned a different part. The groups practiced the dance remotely in the month and a half leading up to the Congress, while Pam stayed in touch via email.

The performers arrived the day before the opening ceremony of the Congress, and had only two rehearsals to become comfortable performing as a group of 50.

Outside of their own groups, no one knew each other, and half of the groups did not speak the same language.

On June 4th, 2019 around 7:00 p.m. the dancers took the stage of the Kyoto International Conference Center. Dancing to the song “Lion” by KODO Performing Arts Ensemble, they performed “Ooh Aah!” in front of the top Parkinson’s doctors, scientists, and healthcare professionals in the world (in addition to fellow PwPs). Their performance acted as the finale to the opening ceremony.

Today, a small online community still remains between the performers. Using Facebook translate, they send messages back and forth to one another sharing life updates from their respective countries.