Erica Rose Jeffrey

Dr Erica Rose Jeffrey believes in the power of movement connected to positive social change. A ‘dance activist’ she seeks to create positive ways of seeing, participating and collaborating in, around, and through dance. Involved in multiple communities, she has worked internationally as a peacebuilder, facilitator, performer, educator, and arts leader. Erica Rose co-founded the Dance for Parkinson’s Australia program with David Leventhal in 2012. The first Dance for PD® certified teaching artist in Australia, Erica Rose holds a PhD in Creative Industries focusing on Dance and Peacebuilding from Queensland University of Technology, a M.A. in International Relations-Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Queensland, and B.S. degrees in Dance and Mediation and Conflict Resolution from Indiana University. She is a Director of Dance for Parkinson’s Australia working in Partnership with Dance for PD®, and has presented workshops with Queensland Ballet in Brisbane, the Sydney Opera House, The Australian Ballet, Ausdance, the Belconnen Arts Centre and other organizations throughout Australia. Working with Dance for PD®, she is supporting the expansion of training and class opportunities in China, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand and Japan. Erica Rose is also a co-Director of Peace and Conflict Studies Institute Australia, implementing and researching peacebuilding projects in the Asia and Pacific regions. Her research has included work in the Philippines specifically in Mindanao, Fiji, Bougainville (Papua New Guinea) and the United States. As a Director of PaCSIA, she is currently engaged in community level peacebuilding projects, including many with arts and culture components, in Australia and internationally including Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea.

Jess Conneely

Jessica is an experienced creative teaching artist and trainer in dance education. With over 30 years of performing and educating others on the benefits of dance, currently facilitating programs for older adults in Community and Aged Care across NSW through the foundation of Dance4wellbeing in 2017.

https://www.dance4wellbeing.com.au/

Jess trains Health & Care professionals to support the use of creativity, movement & music to improve quality of life for older adults. For the last 5 years has led a TAFE NSW accredited skill set course partnering with NSW Health and state training providing accessible learning.
Jess holds a BA degree and qualifications in both vocational education as well as studies in Inclusive & community dance practice, dance psychology, dementia, and Parkinson’s training. Jess won the Trailblazer award, Arts Health Institute as dance program lead in creative engagement for older people. In 2014 wrote the contemporary dance foundation curriculum for the Australian Dance Institute.
Jess presents regularly at Arts and Health conferences and has received numerous awards and grants to further expand best practice in dance and creativity for our ageing population., including 2021 Arts Leader Award, Lake Mac Council & Best Choreography for Sydney Mardi Gra Community Awards. 2022 she was the recipient of Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion at the Lake Mac Business Awards. Jess is on the committees of ACFIPS as Arts & Health Sector advisory member, Arts Health Network NSW/ACT, Outside In Collective and Co-director of Dance for Parkinson’s Australia.

Philip Piggin

Philip is currently a member of the ZEST: Dance for Wellbeing Team, delivering classes to seniors across Canberra. He is also a Co-Director for Dance for Parkinson’s Australia, a member of the Ministerial Advisory Council on Ageing in the ACT, and a Co-Director for the GOLD company at Canberra Dance Theatre.

He has worked across Australia and the UK as a Dance Artist/Educator, specialising in the community and education sectors. Philip has worked with Savidge Dance Company, Common Ground Dance Theatre, Clwyd Dance and Men Dancing in the UK, and in Australia with The Contemporary Dance Company, Ausdance, Canberra Dance Theatre, The National Portrait Gallery and Belconnen Arts Centre. He has taught at several universities, and served on the boards for a number of arts organisations and as a panel member for state and national funding authorities.
In 2014 he was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to research dance programs for people with Parkinson’s and Dementia. Twice nominated for Services to Dance at the Australian Dance Awards, in 2016 he received Life Membership from People Dancing, UK.

Catherine Goss

Catherine is the Sydney coordinator and NSW Committee chair, National Committee member and teaching artist for Dance for Parkinson’s Australia (DPA). Catherine has been a teacher and program leader since 2014.

She has held artistic positions with a variety of companies, including Associate Artistic Director of West Australian Ballet ; Rehearsal Director with Bangarra Dance Theatre, Sydney Dance Company and TasDance. She was Assistant to the Director of Australian Dance Theatre in 2002. She was interim Ballet Mistress for Introdans in The Netherlands. She has been a guest teacher for a number of Ballet and dance companies worldwide.

Catherine’s performance credits include soloist with Royal New Zealand Ballet, Graeme Murphy’s Sydney Dance Company and Reflexdansgezelschap (Netherlands). She has performed and collaborated in many independent productions both in Australia and internationally. She currently teaches company class for Sydney Dance Company, as well many vocational studios in Sydney.
Catherine has been a voting member of Helpmann Dance and Physical Theatre Panel, Ausdance committee WA, and Ausdance Awards organising committee - Canberra. Catherine was awarded the Centenary Federation Medal for Services to Dance in 2003.

Paige Gordon

Paige Gordon has worked in the Australian dance industry for over thirty years. After initial training with Kira Bousloff, Paige studied at WAAPA. She has performed with WA Ballet, Fieldworks, Meryl Tankard Company and numerous independent practitioners. Paige formed a project company in the ACT in 1993 creating an ongoing and significant independent dance presence in the ACT, which drew national interest. Paige was the Artistic Director of WA based Buzz Dance Theatre (1998-2003), where the company was central to the strong dance ecology in WA, performing in the Perth International Arts Festivals, Awesome Festivals, hosting Merce Cunningham & Company (2000) touring throughout WA, nationally & internationally. Paige received a Churchill Fellowship and Centenary Medal for her Service to Dance in 2000. Paige has taught dance in a number of primary and secondary schools across NSW and WA.
Paige is a passionate advocate for dance and seeks ways to connect dance with community through vital partnerships. Paige was co-founder and AD of TRACKSUIT (DADAA) from 2010 - 2020 which offered accessible, inclusive dance workshops, performances and film opportunities for adults of all abilities. Paige has created and facilitated dance-in-health projects within WA hospitals and a recent report by the Chamber of Arts & Culture WA identified Paige’s dance-in-health work as a key ‘resource’ in WA, to be used as a framework for future arts-in-health projects. Paige trained in the Dance for Parkinson’s Program in 2015, teaching classes throughout the Perth and Peel region. She founded Lifespan Dance in 2019 to offer outreach dance services and to continue Seated Dance classes. Paige has created seated dance performative opportunities and has performed WINGSPAN I and II at the Mandurah Arts Festival. Paige was the Dance Curator for the Fairbridge Festival from 2019-2022. In 2022, Paige assisted Meryl Tankard and Link Dance Company (WAAPA) for the ICON : Pina Bausch Project.
https://www.facebook.com/lifespan.dance/

Gabi Stanger

Passionate about movement and exercise, Gabi qualified from the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa with a BSc Physiotherapy in 1981. She furthered her education in rehabilitation through Certificates in Manual Therapy, Hydrotherapy, a Graduate Diploma in Movement and Dance, and is an APPI Pilates certified instructor. She has completed her training in GLA:D and is an APA Pain Physiotherapist.
She has always incorporated dance in her life, participating in performances, Eisteddfods and dance teacher training in her late teens.

It was after completing her Graduate Diploma in Movement and Dance at Melbourne University in 1997 that she began integrating creative movement into her work as a physiotherapist working in the rehabilitation sphere.

After a sabbatical overseas in 2013 in Israel she was introduced to Gaga People Dance and has since completed workshops and participated in many classes.
During one of these workshops she learnt about Dance with PD and felt it could be a wonderful opportunity to combine her therapeutic background along with her love of dance and her commitment to improving people’s quality of life via movement particularly, creative movement.

In 2015 she commenced as a volunteer with Paris Wages in her Melbourne run classes and then went onto completing her Dance for PD Introductory and Advanced training. She continues to be involved co teaching these classes along with assisting with practical, administrative and creative duties.

Her ongoing commitment to providing access and facilitating promotion of these Dance for Parkinson’s classes is born out of her passionate belief in the broad global therapeutic benefits of community dance and its capacity to enhance and enrich the participants quality of life both in the social and physical realms.