Jon Petter

Community Artist / Deep Listener / Sound Therapist / Performer

Dance for Parkinsons

I am proud to have been part of the English National Ballet Dance for Parkinsons programme since its inception in 2010. A truly joyful programme that has had several scientific studies finding that it has measurable benefits for people living with Parkinsons. However, in the words of one participant, “Mr Parkinsons is left outside the door”. We create an art space where people are free to express themselves through dance – very powerful for people with such daily physical obstacles to overcome. Although at its heart it is a dance class, particularly gratifying to me is the number of people citing the live music, the engagement with rhythm work and the singing as crucial to their full enjoyment of the programme.

For more detailed history click here.

My current role is with the Dance for Parkinsons Performance Company. Formed in 2023, this is a space for people to push themselves that bit further, and share their work in the public arena. A highly skilled team create a safe co-creative space for dancers to develop within. The team choreographed and composed the initial performances. Since 2025 we also began working with guest choreographers, beginning with Olivier award-winner Arielle Smith.

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English National Ballet’s Dance for Parkinson’s Saturday class at Markova House, pre the move to the Mulryan Centre for Dance in July 2019.

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‘English National Ballet’s Dance for Parkinson’s class at Mulryan Centre for Dance, 2020, © Photography by ASH’

DfPCo Performances:

Re-Play, March 2024
Holloway Production Studio, Mulrayan Centre for Dance
Something Out Of Nothing
Choreography: Hannah Wilson and Kate Hartley
Music Composition and Performance: Jon Petter, Reina Okada

Guy’s Hospital Atrium July 2024
as part of the Breathe Arts performance programme
Arrival

Live TV Angela Rippon’s Let’s Dance press call, Feb 2025
Guildhall, London
Reflections
Choreography: Hannah Wilson
Music Composition and Performance: Jon Petter, Reina Okada

Re-Play March 2025
Celebrating 75 years of ENB dance legacy
With love, 
     Us xx
Choreographer: Arielle Smith
 Rehearsal Director: Hannah Wilson
Music Composition and Performance: Jon Petter, Reina Okada
Costume Design: Louie Whitemore and Evelien Van Camp

140 dance for parkinson's performace company perform at re play 2024 in the holloway production studio studio © henry curtis

‘English National Ballet’s Dance for Parkinson’s Performance Company dancers performing at RePlay, 2024, © Henry Curtis’

Mark Morris Dance Group first began to develop their Dance for PD® programme in late 2001. Program Director David Leventhal has been there providing inspirational leadership and teaching from the beginning. On his visits to the UK I have often had the privilege to accompany classes he teaches and, at his invitation, I went to New York in 2019 to become a Visiting Fellow at MMDG. With bursary support from the Dylan Foundation, I embedded into the program and had the opportunity to accompany classes across the city, from their home in Brooklyn, to Juliliard, to the New School (in Martha Graham’s iconic studio in the basement of 66 Fifth Avenue) and helped start up a class in a day care centre in Forest Hills, Queens. David teamed me up with choreographer Pamela Quinn, herself living with Parkinsons. We initiated a ChoreoLab to explore ways of integrating voice and movement together which we presented at an MMDG Shared Space evening. I got to develop ideas for Parkinsons voice warm-ups, working with Heather Curran before her Sing for PD® classes and interviewing dancers living with Parkinsons about their voices. I also got to present my ideas, leading a session at the Advanced Training weekend at MMDG, where Dance for PD® teachers from across the country come together to refresh and explore teaching ideas.

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Accompanying class with Anthony J Hyatt at Advanced Training Weekend, MMDG, Brooklyn, October 2019

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