Adapted Tango Program in Full Swing

Adapted Tango Program in Full Swing

The launching of Tango Mercurio’s Adapted Tango Program for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and other movement disorders has exceeded our expectations. Earlier this month, 33 community members from the DC area and beyond completed the three-day instructor / volunteer training session led by Program developer Dr. Madeleine Hackney. Through a partnership with George Washington University’s student-run Argentine Tango Club, we held the session on GWU’s Mount Vernon campus.

Designed to provide the scientifically proven benefits of partnered and improvised social dance to people with PD through a safe, interesting, and fun adaptation of traditional Argentine tango, the Adapted Tango Program has been shown to improve mobility and cognitive function, spark joy, promote social connection, and improve overall quality of life in its participants. Of the 33 trainees, 24 are volunteering to provide support for our pilot series of classes for people with PD and their caregivers. Other trainees came from as far as Philadelphia, PA, Charlotte, NC, and Boston, MA to bring Adapted Tango concepts back to their own communities.

Our first pilot class series kicked off on September 17 and will continue with weekly 1.5-hour classes for five weeks on the main GWU campus. We have already received positive feedback from the PD participants. One wrote: “I just wanted to mention how grateful I was for all your staff who were so very helpful in assisting not only during the session but before and after.” Another told us “I feel like a new person.” Our second 5-week pilot class series is already full and is scheduled to begin on October 22. Given the momentum generated by the Program launch, we expect to be in a position to extend Adapted Tango Program offerings into 2026.

Thanks to a grant from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, supplemented by generous donations to our GoFundMe fundraising campaign and instructor training tuition fees from non-volunteers, we are offering the pilot series of classes free of charge for both participants with PD and their caregivers. Your ongoing donations to the GoFundMe campaign will help us continue to offer the classes free of charge for people with PD and their caregivers in 2026 and are much appreciated. Thank you for your support!

For any questions on enrolling in the training or classes, please email us.

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