The Crane Dance Project

More than 1,500 dance artists of the global Parkinson’s community participated in over 140 dance videos that celebrated the beauty and majesty of the iconic crane. These videos were created as part of the PD Crane Dance Project for the 5th World Parkinson Congress (WPC), which was held in Kyoto, Japan in 2019. This project, the first of its kind was envisioned and produced by Clara Kluge, a person living with Parkinson's and an enthusiastic Dance for PD participant. Culminating in over a five hours of dance, the compilation video spanned dance artists from 17 countries around the world.

Through a website created for the project, the Parkinson’s community received an open invitation to submit short videos of crane dances.These dances were very creative, inspirational and uplifting, giving one a sense of hope through dance.

Part of the Crane Dance Project was to develop a living legacy for the dancers who were involved in creating it. Their preserved videos are a sustaining acknowledgement of their creativity and commitment to dance. The Crane Dance Artists were honored through these photos and Individual dance videos seen on this website.

As the WPC prepares for the 6th Congress to be held next year in Barcelona, Spain, July 4-7, 2023, a new dance project is in the works. For a sneak peak, see below.

Short Documentary Film on the Crane Dance Project

This short documentary gives some context of how this project was conceived and the overwhelming positive outcome.

Photo Gallery

To view all photos, please scroll down to view more. Enjoy the abundance of photos.

Crane Dance Parkinson
Crane Dance Parkinson
Crane Dance Parkinson
Crane Dance Parkinson
Crane Dance Parkinson
Crane Dance Parkinson
Crane Dance Parkinson
Crane Dance Parkinson
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Video Gallery

Enjoy the great variety of crane dances; each dance video unique, full of passion for dance.

  • Berdy's Crane Dance 1 / 2019 Veghel
  • Berdy's Dance fit Veghel/Phoenix Cultuur
  • Folding, Flying
  • DE Dance 4 PD
  • Wilmington, Delaware United States
  • We See Hope
  • Dance for People with Parkinson's / The H'art Centre
  • Kingston, Ontario Canada
  • Berdy's Crane Dance 2 / 2019 Veghel
  • Berdy's Dance fit Veghel/Phoenix Cultuur
  • Crane Dances, Apeldoorn, 15-03-2019
  • StudYoPi
  • Apeldoorn, Netherlands
  • Cranes to Oegstgeest
  • Dance for Health - Oegstgeest
  • Oegstgeest, Netherlands
  • Flight of the Cranes from Rotterdam to Kyoto
  • Dance for Health
  • Rotterdam, Netherlands
  • The Gathering of the Happy Sock Flock
  • NC Dance for Parkinsons/ Parkinson's Movement Initiative at ADF
  • Durham, North Carolina  United States
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Thank you to

all of the dancers, dance artists, teachers, assistants, composers, musicians, costume and set designers, support staff and care givers, friends and families for supporting this dance project.

Sponsored by

WPC proudly presents the PD Crane Dance Project, a project made possible with support from USWorldMeds in conjunction with Britannia Pharmaceuticals and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited. Thank you. Arigato!

Supported by

The 6th World Parkinson Congress Dance Project

Building on the successful response of the Crane Dance Project, a new website is under construction for the 2023 Congress. The website is www.iamdance.xyz. This is a virtual creative space where people with Parkinson’s who love to dance can find out how they can participate in the Parkinson World Congress from their very own hometown location. Utilizing the program format of the Crane Dance project, dancers will be invited to create individual videos. A compilation of the submitted videos will be screened at the Congress presentation in Barcelona Spain, July 4-7, 2023.

For more information, please send your contact information(first name and email address) to:

[email protected]