Rx Ballroom Dance

Rx Ballroom Dance stands for a Natural Prescription to a Healthier Mind and Body.  With Ballroom Dance being proven as an effective way to prevent and treat dementia, Alzheimers, Parkinson's, and many cerebral diseases, why is it not the #1 prescribed activity amongst those afflicted?

Access, education and resources.

Private Ballroom dance lessons are often only accessible at dance studios.  In addition, ballroom dance teachers are not necessarily trained to work with students with special needs.  Finally, those who do struggle with special needs aren't always the ones who can afford pricey private lessons.

So how do we make ballroom more accessible to those who can truly use it to improve their quality of life?  

Let's build a non-profit that makes the healing benefits of ballroom accessible to everyone who demonstrates the medical need for it.  

Your donations will directly cover the cost of ballroom lessons, travel, materials, space and the source of joy for the clients who find healing through ballroom dance.  Ballroom lessons for students with disabilities has already begun, so by donating today you are directly contributing.  

Our first student who is a participant at Rx Ballroom Dance is James Dong.  The following bio is written by his loving daughter, Seika:


"Ever since I was a little girl I thought my father was hardworking and brave. He worked tirelessly to provide for my music lessons and my education. Even after work and on weekends, my father would go to the public library to improve his knowledge. In order to take care of his parents, my father decided to work overseas in China to provide for them. My grandfather was diagnosed with intestinal cancer, and my father saw to it that he spent his last months comfortably. Unfortunately my grandfather passed away in June 2016. Twenty days later, my beloved mother (his wife) passed away unexpectedly. My father flew home to take care of the household and to see to my college graduation. He remained in China to help my grandmother, who had late stage dementia, but she ultimately passed in February 2018.

Since then, the loss and the stress of my father has been immense. This stress manifested itself in small ways in the beginning. At first he noticed loss of control in his arm- he could no longer sign his name on paper. Then he had so much trouble driving that he stopped all together. Walks to the park became more and more difficult, and his movement became more rigid and challenging. After much trial and error, the doctor finally diagnosed my father with ontiponticular cerebral atrophy. OPCA is the loss and shrinking of brain cells that impair movement. There is no cure, besides medication to alleviate systems and physical therapy. This was devastating to my father, because it mean that his conditions were irreversible and that he could no longer work or do things he enjoyed.

Then I came across a Facebook video that featured patients with Parkinson's being able to move smoothly due to dance! I became hopeful that perhaps it could help my father- after all, we had tried so much already and had nothing to lose!  We found Erin, who had done amazing work with people affected by Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and cerebral atrophy. My father was not a quitter, and agreed to seeing if dance could help his condition. Just from the first lesson we noticed immediate improvements to his posture and balance. By the second lesson, my father was able to dance to the beat of the music. Never have I seen my father smile in such a long time. Dancing has given him something to look forward to, an opportunity and hope for something to call his own. I truly hope that with this non-profit organization, Erin will have the opportunity to change the lives of other people like she has already done so much for my father."