'Dance Gives Parkinson’s Patients Joyful Cues,’ Says Producer Vonita Singh On Kathak-Inspired Play 'Still Dancing'

April is designated, internationally, as Parkinson’s Disease(PD) awareness month; and a play, Still Dancing, centring on this debilitating ailment, will be staged in Mumbai, at The Royal Opera House, on April 12 and at Rangshila on April 13. Produced by Vonita Singh, a trained kathak dancer, and written and directed by Sanjeev Dixit, the play, based on Singh’s father’s struggle with Parkinson’s, aims at creating awareness about timely detection and acceptance with a view towards better management of PD. Using theatre, music and dance, the play suggests that dance can be a physical and emotional lifeline for those affected by PD.

We spoke to Vonita Singh on how Still Dancing was conceived.

Excerpts from the interview:

A personal experience prompted you to deep dive into the significance of creative and mindful movement in the treatment of those coping with PD. Can you share this experience?

When my father was detected with Parkinson’s and advised physiotherapy, we did not follow the advice as diligently as we should have, skipping sessions when he was reluctant to attend, due to boredom, fatigue or aches and pain. To make matters worse, my brothers and I mollycoddled him, helping him to wear his clothes, tying his shoelaces, spoon-feeding his meals. It was only after he passed away and I started reading about PD that I realised how important movement is for managing this disease.

PD causes overall slowness, loss of balance and can affect various muscles of the body, including the tongue; so a patient can have speech impairment, swallowing issues, breathing problems, constipation and a whole host of mobility issues that the patient and his care-givers may not understand. I realised what mistakes we had made.

Then, when practising my dance steps belated wisdom dawned on me. I had been dancing since the age of four but not realised how the posture and movements of kathak like tatkar helped me work on my balance. I was filled with remorse. If only I had initiated my father into some kathak steps when the monotony of physiotherapy, day after day, month after month, had set in. When you dance to Krishan Kanhaiya, bansi bajaiya/ Pag mein noopur, ta ta thaiya, your hands, feet, eyes, spine are coordinating without it feeling like a chore. The autonomic nervous system is compromised in people with Parkinson’s, with involuntary cues not happening. Dance gives them external cues— auditory, visual and rhythmic—in an enjoyable manner.

I thought I had made a huge discovery; but, actually, there was already a lot of global awareness about dance as a modality for managing the challenges of PD, especially in the US. So I enrolled in New York for a course: ‘Dance for PD program’.

When I returned to Dubai where I was based those days, I reached out to families dealing with Parkinson’s, keen that they should not make the mistakes I made with my father. And founded ‘Movement Mantra’ to help those with movement disability manage their condition better.

What made you want to stage a play on the subject?

The film Still Alice, based on a true story delving into Alzheimer’s, made me want to do something similar to spread awareness about Parkinson’s. I spoke to a friend Shereen, who is a theatre artiste and a dancer. She said, “Making a film will be tough. How about a play?” And she introduced me to Sanjeev Dixit who has written the story and directed Still Dancing.

Was the title of your play also inspired by Still Alice?

We had thought of many names while we were looking for a title and a title image. And then, Sanjeev chanced upon a beautiful award-winning painting of two hands done by Margaret Rae, who was suffering from Parkinson’s. She had called it Dancing While We Still Can. All of us loved it! The film Still Alice was also always at the back of my mind, and so both these moving works of art gave me the title of my play.