Under the Loggia del Lionello a dance performance with Parkinson's patients and others

The performance was born within the Dance Park project of the social promotion association FareTra, curated by Luisa Amprimo – project partners also the Arearea association, the ASUFC (Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale) and the Municipality of Udine – a weekly dance workshop aimed in particular at people with Parkinson's disease and caregivers. The lessons, while representing a useful rehabilitation tool for neurological disease, aim first and foremost to offer an artistic approach to the body and movement in a climate of creative sharing. The workshops, held at Lo Studio di Arearea (via fabio di maniago 15, Udine), draw mainly on contemporary dance techniques and are calibrated based on the characteristics of the group.

The performance is included in the AREADANZA 2025 festival within a morning of performative restitutions and sharing of the laboratory paths started within the Arearea Dance Library project, curated by Arearea, with the aim of involving and giving back to the community and the public what emerged in the collective work.

Parkinson's is a neurodegenerative disease that mainly affects certain functions such as movement control and balance. Unfortunately, it affects an ever-increasing number of people, many of whom are still of working age. In fact, Parkinson's, contrary to popular belief, does not only affect the elderly (it can also appear before the age of 40) and does not only mean tremors. It is a disease that is often little known even though it brings with it numerous symptoms that the patient, together with the people close to him, must learn to recognize and try to manage.

Epidemiology of Parkinson's disease and Parkinsonisms in FVG: according to some studies (2011 and 2016) the incidence is estimated to be 300/330 new cases per year and the prevalence is 4400/4600 people currently with this disease. Pharmacological intervention is not enough to combat the symptoms, physical activity is essential and dance, as a creative and aggregative activity, can contribute to improving the quality of life of those who find themselves having to live with the disease. Although Parkinson's is widespread, very often those who suffer from it hide, do not talk about it, sometimes isolate themselves and leaving the house can become an increasingly difficult undertaking.

And this is also why a performance like this carries with it an important message, it demonstrates in a concrete way that life does not end with a diagnosis, that it is possible to show oneself even with one's own fragilities and, through the language of art and movement, to put oneself on the line by moving a little further those limits that life puts before us, whatever they may be.