Moving Through Parkinson's (MTP), founded by Lisa Morgan, CSU Dance faculty and affiliate faculty with the Center for Healthy Aging (CHA), was started in 2014 as an extension of ongoing classes through the Music Therapy Program at Colorado State University.
Classes are held at CHA and sponsored by Parkinson's Association of the Rockies.
MTP classes are for people living with movement challenges and their care partners. We come together to move, exercise and dance! Through specifically designed movement patterns, we work to improve balance, combat stiffness and rigidity, and improve coordination and spatial awareness. Our goals are to build confidence to move with freedom and ease, acquire tools to use on a daily basis, build strength and endurance and, overall, to improve our well being.
Lisa Morgan is a dance educator and movement specialist who has been working in the dance and movement education field for more than 25 years. She is on the faculty at Colorado State University in the School of Music, Theatre and Dance. She is passionate about facilitating movement experiences for all ages and disciplines as a catalyst for learning, developing a greater sense of how our bodies move and function to support healing and well being. At CSU Dance, since 2000, Lisa has taught modern dance technique, choreography and now is primarily focused on Teaching Methods for Children’s dance. She is committed to expanding dance in our pk-12 schools across Colorado schools. She is proud to be an integral part of the launch of a new degree program, a BFA with a Concentration in Dance Education. CSU is the first in Colorado to offer this degree which prepares students to teach dance in elementary and secondary schools, dance studios, and the community at large. Additionally, the degree equips students to apply for dance teaching licensure (grades Pk-12) in the state of Colorado.
She directs the seminar, CSU Dance EDUCATION IN MOTION, a professional development opportunity for our Colorado pK-12 teachers focused on integrating movement & dance into core curriculum.
She is the coordinator of the dance portion of BRAINY (BRinging Arts INtegration to Youth) inviting 4th graders from Title I schools in Poudre and Thompson School Districts to experience integrated arts experiences in dance, theatre, music and visual arts.
Caitlynn Doyle, MTP Teaching Assistant, graduated from Colorado State University in the Fall of 2022 with a Bachelor's degree in Behavioral/Cognitive Neuroscience. She enjoys the elegance of neural pathways and neurotransmitters but prefers intertwining neuroscience with understandings from social sciences and dance education to paint a more enriching picture of the ways in which humans experience and interact with the world. This inspired her thesis research exploring ways to increase the accessibility of dance classes for neurodivergent students. Caitlynn’s second home growing up was a dance studio and in it she learned that movement and passionate teachers transform lives. She looks forward to weaving that special kind of dance magic with neuroscience knowledge to continue supporting Moving Through Parkinson's participants as a teaching assistant!