World Parkinson Congress 2019, Kyoto, Japan

dNaga performed at the fifth annual World Parkinson Congress (WPC)
in Kyoto, Japan
from June 4–7, 2019

After their performance at the 2016 WPC in Portland, Oregon, Executive Director Eli Pollard invited dNaga back to the 2019 WPC to perform again.

dNaga’s Japan adventure began at the Saitama Arts Center. David Leventhal and Maria Portman-Kelly, the founder and coordinator of Dance for PD® respectively, held a Dance for PD® Teacher Training Workshop from May 31–June 2, 2019. dNaga Artistic Director Claudine Naganuma was part of an informational panel on Friday, and then supported the workshop on Saturday and Sunday, in which dancers Lucie Jerome and Jhia Jackson took part as teachers in training.

dNaga then traveled to Kyoto for four days. Over the six months prior, members of dNaga learned a dance by Pamela Quinn, a professional dancer and PD coach who has had PD for over 20 years. The piece, entitled Ooh Aah, was performed by dancers from multiple countries at the opening ceremony of the conference. That same evening, dNaga, clad in multi-colored scrubs, performed a site-specific dance with neon noise-making “groaners” in the exhibition hall.

dNaga also performed in two showcases on the exhibition hall stage: Layers of Oak and Stone on Wednesday, and Deep Brain Matters and Proteinology on Thursday.

To wrap up their WPC activities, dNaga performed Rocks and Waterways at the Music and Movement Night in the Grand Prince Hotel’s Gold Room.