Page 10 - APAP Inside Arts - Spring 2020

VO!CE
U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs as well as state and local arts agencies. The initiative provides access to art, music and dance/movement therapies, as well as creative writing instruction for service members and veterans suffering from traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. Through telehealth, creative arts therapists are able to work with patients in rural and remote
DANCING THROUGH
THE DECADE
Ten years ago, Krannert Center and staff from Dance at Illinois,
in partnership with the Unity Parkinson’s Disease Support Group and Carle Clinic, began offering a monthly dance program for local residents with Parkinson’s disease. The free series of dance-based classes was inspired by the center’s longtime artistic collaborators
places via video conferencing platforms.
“This Creative Forces expansion is an important part of the National Endowment for the Arts’ efforts to increase access to the arts for all Americans, especially to our veterans and those in rural communities,” says Mary Anne Carter, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.
“Telehealth can be a hugely important tool in connecting
Mark Morris Dance Group. A decade later, Krannert’s Dance for People with Parkinson’s program
is going strong. The program aims to help participants preserve and improve their balance, flexibility and strength, while also building
a community of people with Parkinson’s and their supporters. In the decade since its inception, there have been moments of discovery, respite, joy and commonality. That tradition continues, says Whitney
rural veterans with the care they need,” said Dr. Thomas Klobucar, executive director of the VA Office of Rural Health. “Our partnership with the National Endowment
for the Arts adds an entirely new dimension of care to our Rural Veterans TeleRehabilitation Initiative, allowing us to treat the whole veteran regardless of where they live.”
For more information, visit arts.gov/creativeforces.
Havice, Krannert Center’s ticket services director and the staff liaison for the program: “The Dance for People with Parkinson's program is an incredibly special demonstration of what happens when you are able to explore the creative empowerment of dance and the positive impact it can have on the mind, body and soul, as well as the connections and sense of family that it can create within communities.”
8 INSIDE ARTS SPRING 2020