Wendy Whelan, Associate Artistic Director and former principal ballerina with the New York City Ballet, has navigated injury and age throughout a 30+-year career in a dance form centered on youth and technical perfection. In this Big Move experience, Whelan connects with medical experts from Dartmouth Hitchcock for a panel discussion on the wisdom of the aging body, beginning at 4 pm. The 45-minute discussion will be followed by an experiential movement workshop, open to all ages and abilities, with a particular focus on older people and those living with Parkinson's or other movement disorders. 

Both the discussion and workshop are free, and participants are welcome to attend the discussion and observe the movement portion of the workshop without performing the exercises if they are more comfortable doing so.

What lessons of the body are shared between a ballet dancer adapting and maintaining their technique and a person grappling with neuro-muscular challenges in everyday activities? What opportunities are there for pleasurable movement and inventive choreography? Dr. Ellen Flaherty, Director of the Center for Health and Aging at DHMC will moderate the conversation, drawing lines between her deep clinical experience in neurological health care and the experience of an aging, virtuosic dancer. The panel will also include Dr. Stephen Lee who specializes in clinical and applied basic science research and is drawn to the field of neurology by the beauty and intricacies of the human nervous system.

Whelan will be at Dartmouth presenting THE DAY, her interdisciplinary collaboration with cellist Maya Beiser, choreographer Lucinda Childs, and composer David Lang.

Learn more and register for free here