Former athletes with Parkinson’s turn to ballroom dancing for pain relief, motivation

By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Publisher As a teenager in the mid-1950s, John Daniels was a pretty good athlete. Good enough to earn a football scholarship to Lehigh University after his Atlantic City High School career ended in 1956. Back in those days he never imagined there would come a day when he would struggle with simple tasks such as getting out of bed or making a cup of coffee. Even as he grew older, Daniels, 75, was a healthy guy. Until he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease two years ago. Daniels is one of more than 1 million people in the United States living with Parkinson’s, according to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, and one of as many as 10 million worldwide. Perhaps the most well known are former boxing champion Muhammed Ali and actor Michael J. Fox. Parkinson’s is a progressive disease that affects motor skills, such as balance, and can cause tremors and stiffness in joints. Sarah Gibbs, a personal trainer at Body In Balance in Linwood and former basketball star at Ocean City High School, helps Orange Allen learn some ballroom dancing steps during a recent Saturday class. (Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O’Sullivan) Body In Balance, a physical therapy center in Linwood, has taken a unique approach to helping people cope with the effects of Parkinson’s. Owner Eleanor Hagan is a Parkinson’s Wellness Recovery (PWR) clinician and, along with husband and partner Dan Hagan, began hosting ballroom dancing classes about two years ago on Saturday afternoons at the Linwood location. She has enlisted the help of personal trainer Sarah Gibbs, a 22-year-old former standout basketball player at Ocean City High School, to bring some youthful energy to the group. “Parkinson’s patients have a loss of dopamine in the brain. Basically we’re trying to get that back and exercise helps. We try and switch it up and keep it fun,” Gibbs said. “We’re doing an eight-week program with (ballroom dancing). It’s something different and they really like it. We’re doing stuff like the Waltz and the Foxtrot. A lot of (our patients) used to go out and dance to that type of music.” “Research shows that high velocity, dancing, big movements, specific exercises minimizes their symptoms. Even more than medicine, exercising every day is the best thing they can do,” Ellie Hagan said. Also helping out is personal trainer Travis English, as well as several volunteers, such as his girlfriend, Michelle McKinley. George Biener volunteers his time to teach the class, which features a host of former athletes such as Anthony Gettle, Rich Moeller, Cheryl Cappelli, Francine Andrews and Orange Allen. “He likes it. It takes a little bit to get used to because it’s different, but I think he likes working with that generation. He gets along with everyone, they love him,” Gibbs said of English. Gibbs said the classes, which will run into February, have started to really gain in popularity and some weekends the class has as many as 25 people dancing to the sweet sounds of music by the likes of Frank Sinatra, among others. “They love it. You see a smile on their face. It slowly starts coming back and they remember the movements,” Gibbs said. “We have a great group of people who come out and there’s always new people showing up when they find out there is a program for them. And that’s what we want people to know, that they don’t have to go through Parkinson’s alone. Some people don’t want anyone to know they have it because they are embarrassed about it.” Ginni Laird, whose children played basketball at Absegami High School, has been dealing with Parkinson’s for the past 14 years and says that ballroom dancing helps alleviate some of the pain in her joints. For Daniels, having Parkinson’s is a stark contrast to the active lifestyle he enjoyed most of his life, which included activities such as golf, squash, surfing and sailing. “It certainly affects your motion. You can’t walk with any kind of speed. I always describe it as walking in quicksand,” Daniels said. “Things don’t happen naturally like they used to. When you play golf, trying to get to the ball is like walking through glue. It’s more frustrating than anything else. You try, because you want to keep doing things. I want to play golf with my grandson. Which I do, but I have to take a handicapped cart so I can get closer to the ball.” Daniels said exercising at Body In Balance has really helped him, not only physically, but mentally as well. “This facility is great because Ellie is very dedicated to helping people. We try to get as much exercise as possible,” Daniels said. “Before (Parkinson’s) I always used to dance with my wife, then it was like I lost all my rhythm. I couldn’t do anything. And now this ballroom dancing is helping to bring that back. It certainly has a major impact on your ability to move.” Ginni Laird is a 1964 graduate of Middletown High School in Monmouth County and sports has been a big part of her life. Her kids, Shannon and Sean, both played basketball at Absegami High School and she was an avid athlete in her younger days. She’s been dealing with Parkinson’s for 14 years and said ballroom dancing is a great way to relieve some of the pain the disease brings. “I love music. I’m not a great dancer though,” Laird said. “My Parkinson’s mostly affects my left side, so to get that rhythm is important, but it’s also challenging. But this facility has been wonderful. “I think my husband, Frank, is going to want to go dancing now, so that’s been a very good thing. It gives you some encouragement that you can still do things.” Gibbs said perhaps the biggest satisfaction she gets from working with the class members is seeing the change in their temperament. They come in feeling down but by the time the class is over it’s a complete change in their attitude, she said. “We have one guy who comes in, Rick, and his wife says that before he comes in (to do the ballroom dancing) he is miserable and in pain but afterward he is smiling, he’s moving, he’s not stiff. I think it’s something that people need to try out and see what it can do for them,” Gibbs said. “We just want them to have a good time and provide that time where it’s like, ‘OK, I don’t have Parkinson’s for the next hour.’ A time when they are just laughing and having a good time. We also want to get the word out to people that it’s OK if you have Parkinson’s. A lot of people (who have the disease) are depressed. People don’t know what can help them and what can’t, so we’re trying to show them something that can help them.” Gibbs said that despite being just 22, she has taken quite a liking to the dance steps from long ago. “It’s great even for people my age to learn that type of dancing because it’s never been taught to us. It would be awesome if there was a place where we could go out dancing like that,” Gibbs said. Daniels said he is improving his dance steps, but said nobody should be holding their breath in hopes of seeing him on Broadway anytime soon. “I don’t think you’ll be seeing that.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays