Still Dancing, a play that raises awareness about Parkinson’s  

From the play Still Dancing

April 11 is observed as World Parkinson’s Day, and Movement Mantra and Third Half Theatre’s play Still Dancing — An Ode to Movement  aims to bring awareness about the neurodegenerative condition. The play was written to inspire hope and resilience among people with Parkinson’s and their families. 

After performances in Dubai, Mumbai and Ahmedabad, it will be staged in Delhi on April 11. Through drama and dance, the production — a deeply personal, real-life journey of a person with Parkinson’s— not only raises awareness but also serves as a crucial reminder of the condition.

An estimated 12 million people across the globe live with Parkinson’s, and cases are expected to double within the next two decades. 

Dubai-based classical dancer and founder of Movement Mantra Vonita Singh has been a dedicated advocate of Parkinson’s awareness in West Asia and India for over 12 years.

 “At its core, while Still Dancing highlights Parkinson’s, it is ultimately a story about family — one that feels familiar to us all. It follows their lives, joys, and, of course, their hardships,” says Dubai-based award-winning writer and director Sanjeev Dixit, who is the founder of Third Half Theatre.

The production is based on the real-life story of Vonita’s family — she lost her father to Parkinson’s in 2009 and founded Movement Mantra, a platform that taps into the therapeutic potential of mindful movement. “The play is about a family next door that is swept in a tsunami of events only to find deeper purpose at the other shore. Through dance, drama, laughter and tears, it sensitises the audience to the cardinal mistakes many families and caregivers and be alerted to possible,” adds Vonita.

The play portrays the challenges of living with Parkinson’s

While the basic script is the same as the one written originally in 2019, director Sanjeev added a pivotal scene during  its India premiere last year — this delves into the emotional upheaval of the family. 

The play boasts a stellar cast, including Vivek Raj Tandon, Mona Ambegaonkar, Shereen Saif, Nakul Bhalla, Amey Mehta, Bhumika Mane, Abhimanyu Gupta and Avenav Mukherjee. Bringing the production to life is Kumar Sharma and the dance troupe Kathak Rockers, who seamlessly blend Indian classical and contemporary dance to illustrate the challenges of living with Parkinson’s. “Interpreting dance as a medium for healing has been a privilege, and I’m excited to use this art form to raise awareness within the community,” shares Kumar.

In fact, the main character in the play is a trained Kathak dancer. “Even though the play’s themes are not related to that aspect of her life, dance forms and informs a lot of her thought process. We have used it as a motif to express the emotions of the characters,” says Sanjeev. Further, a thumri has been sung especially for the show, and poems performed to music form key moments in the play. “People with Parkinson’s benefit immensely from physical activity, mental stimulation and social engagement — three elements that dance naturally provides. Dance requires mindful movement, which is exactly what someone with Parkinson’s needs when their automatic motor functions are compromised,” says Vonita.

Still Dancing will be staged on April 11 at Little Theatre Group, on April 12 at Excelsior American School, Gurugram, and on April 13 at Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre.