It’s not your typical dance class. It’s not meant to be.

The members are older. Some have a shuffling gate and a trembling hand. Some are on walkers or canes. Teacher Clarissa Sharp greets them all by name, standing tall and thin in her black leotard and pants, ready to get going. If you saw her on the street, you’d know she was a dancer.

She’s been conducting dance classes for Parkinson’s patients for three years after getting certified in New York by Brooklyn Dance for PD. The organization’s goals are to offer classes to people with this degenerative disease and keep them moving. Moving helps with range of motion, muscle tone, and flexibility. Boxing, cycling, swimming, yoga, tai chi. It all counts. The dance steps you do today can help you get out of bed tomorrow.

“Plus,” Sharp says, “it just makes you happy.”

Sharp, who has an undergraduate degree in dance from The University of Colorado and a graduate degree in physical therapy from Duke, works with Parkinson’s patients at Huntsville Hospital and also teaches dance at the Decatur School of Fine Arts. When her supervisor at the hospital asked if she’d be interested in doing a Parkinson’s Dance class, she knew it was meant to be. She calls it serendipity or divine intervention. She said yes.

The classes meet at Huntsville Ballet School. The cost is $5, which goes toward a room rental fee. “Care partners” are welcome to attend and sometimes dance along with the group.

The dancers sit in a chair circle and follow Sharp’s lead as she starts moving to the tunes pianist Cathy plays. First there’s the warm-up, with hands reaching above the head and feet stomping in rhythm on the floor. The dancers move their arms to row a boat, lift their hands to the sun, and squish a bug on the floor. Then there’s the chicken neck dance, which looks just like it sounds.

When Sharp’s assistant passes out red and yellow scarves, the dancers “sweep the earth” and “spread the love.” If the class members can’t wave their arms, they do what they can. One side of the room waves to the other, like travelers on a ship’s deck, sailing off on some journey.

But they’re all on the same journey.

They stand up and move around the room in lines, do “mirror image” dancing with a partner, then hold hands in a circle. They “pass the pulse,” squeezing the hand of the person next to them, thanking their bodies for working and thanking each other for being there. They’ve been moving for an hour and fifteen minutes and a few are out of breath as they leave. They’ll come back for next Monday's class.

“It’s like a community,” Sharp says. “We get together at Christmas. We know about each other’s families. When they come here, they're living the best life they can with this disease they have.”

In 2019, the class was asked to submit a video to the World Congress on Parkinson’s Disease. It was shown in Tokyo and around the world. It was a big boost to the dancers. If she had a motto for her class, Sharp says it would be this: The essence of dance is joy.

People who want more information can contact Sharp at Clarissasharp@icloud.com.