Jon Tariq

Argentine tango is medically highly recommended around the world for Parkinson’s Disease Patients. Parkinson’s Disease is a neurodegenerative disease with increasing motor and non-motor symptoms. It is a progressive central nervous system disorder that leads to disability.

When you dance tango, you have to be present every single second you dance. Tango is an improvisational dance where your mind and your body are constantly moving. There is no time to think about your problems, fears, worries and insecurities. You just concentrate on your dance.

Tango is believed to improve and increased muscular strength, endurance, and motor fitness as well as benefit personal relationships, social networks, and the overall quality of life. It is for many a rehabilitation therapy. There are a lot of detailed medical studies, research, articles and clinical case report about this subject in the National Library of Medicine, Webscience, Science Direct and PubMed among others.

Seniors with poor physical function, high risk of inactivity and cognitive decline, poor quality of life, and depression can also benefit from tango. It is proven by studies that to prevent deterioration, it is necessary to provide enriched interventions by involving multi-sensorial activities, attentional tasks, strength, and dynamic balance exercises that promote immediate working memories. Dynamic balance is the ability to maintain a position’s stability while weight shifting, often while changing the base of support.

Music and dance are used as non-pharmacological therapy and have been shown to be effective for different conditions, such as Parkinson’s Disease and other neurological conditions. Music stimulates physical abilities, and dance is a socio-cultural experience that simultaneously engages the sensory systems by stimulating physical, emotional and cognitive functions. When people come together to dance, they create a specific community atmosphere and share an aesthetic space which allows the dancer to use their body, mind and socialization skills without even thinking about it.

Argentine Tango is particularly helpful for improving mobility and motor–cognitive function. It invites exercise through rhythm, imitation and synchronization and its regular practice has a positive impact on cognitive abilities as it requires sustained attention, interactional sensitivity, sensorial presence, spatiotemporal awareness, and use of memory. Studies on tango for Parkinson’s Disease have shown its effectiveness but remember, Argentine Tango is also good for anyone!