Linda Berghoff, “Dancing Through Parkinson’s” teacher (right), and Laura Karlin, founder and artistic director for Invertigo Dance Theatre, (left), both started the “Dancing Through Parkinson’s” program. (photo courtesy of Invertigo Dance Theatre)

Beverly Hills resident Linda Berghoff has been dancing since she was 10 years old — which may seem young, but is rather late to get into dancing, she said. Berghoff has danced all her life recreationally, and while in high school and college. However, in 2006 she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a chronic and progressive movement disorder.

Berghoff feared she wouldn’t be able to dance anymore.

“I felt like my world was coming to an end … So when I was diagnosed, you know, it was devastating,” Berghoff said.

According to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, there are approximately one million people in the U.S. currently diagnosed with the disease. Although the individual experiences vary from person to person, the primary signs of the disease include body tremors, a slowness of movement, rigidity and impaired balance and coordination. The cause of Parkinson’s disease is still unknown and there is no cure.

After her diagnosis, while she was visiting family in New York City, she came across an ad in a newspaper about a dance program for people with Parkinson’s disease, “Dance for PD,” by the world renowned Mark Morris Dance Group.

The program started in 2001 and quickly began gaining local, national and international attention. By 2007, the program began expanding to Germany, the U.K. and Canada. The program was impressive because it did not treat its participants as patients in a support group, but rather challenged them as dancers, Berghoff remembered.

“It was a real dance class, but it was built for people with movement disorders,” Berghoff said. “We would do ports de bras, which means carrying of the arms — in ballet, that’s the first thing you do — and other dance movements. There was a little bit of foot work in the chairs and then if people were able to get up, we worked at a ballet barre. We did all the classic movements. It was just like a real dance class.”

After learning more about “Dance for PD,” Berghoff returned to Los Angeles and solicited the help of her longtime neighborhood friend, Laura Karlin, founder and artistic director of the Invertigo Dance Theatre. In 2011, Karlin and Berghoff, with training from the Mark Morris Dance Group, started a similar “Dance for PD” program called “Dancing Through Parkinson’s” in Los Angeles with the Invertigo Dance Theatre.

Both Berghoff and Karlin, as well as a staff of dance instructors, currently teach “Dancing Through Parkinson’s” classes at two Los Angeles locations, the Electric Lodge dance studio in Venice and at the YMCA dance studio in Culver City.

On Feb. 23, the Beverly Hills Community Health and Safety Recognition Commission recognized Berghoff with its first award for her work with “Dancing Through Parkinson’s.”

Berghoff has remained humble and wants to re-focus attention to the classes.

“It’s bigger than me,” she said.

Myra Demeter, community health and safety commissioner, said Berghoff remains a modest and unassuming individual who has contributed greatly to people with Parkinson’s disease.

“Through this program and her generosity in sharing her personal experiences with Parkinson’s, [Berghoff] has touched thousands of Parkinson’s patients and helped them to lead happier lives.  [She] is an unsung hero and we are proud to present her with this well-deserved honor,” Demeter said.

When she’s not visiting family in New York City, Berghoff regularly co-teaches both classes. Most of the participants, which range from 15 to 20 per week and sometimes 36 per class, are regulars. Participants are not required to pay to attend the classes, but instead are encouraged to donate when and what they can.

“Some people come and donate what a normal dance class might cost, about $15. Some people do not feel that they are in a position to donate. It’s not what they’re choosing to do and that’s fine,” Karlin said.

Although the classes are serious, they’re fun and modified to be accessible to people with Parkinson’s disease and others with impaired movement, such as seniors, Karlin said.

Not everyone who participates in the classes has physical ailments. Several physical therapists, medical students, friends and family members of people with Parkinson’s disease also attend the classes.

“We’re very clear that when we are teaching, we’re not talking down to anybody. It’s really not about saying, ‘Oh, you have Parkison’s.’ I mean, the classes are challenging. They’re not dumbed down. But we make sure we modify them,” Karlin said.

Currently, Invertigo Dance Theatre is looking to expand into two more locations this year, according to Karlin, but they are picky. Every location has to be accessible to people with disabilities, Karlin said.

“At two current locations, we came through with a lot of research … we have to keep in mind that a lot of our participants may be in wheelchairs. It has to be accessible to all people with all stages of movement … with parking … We can’t do something with street parking blocks away from the location,” Karlin said.

Neither the Mark Morris Dance Group nor Invertigo Dance Theatre claim that their dance classes prevent or slow down the onset of Parkinson’s disease. However, Karlin and Berghoff both said that several of their class participants have said that the dancing has made them feel better, stronger and more confident.

“It’s a disease that can come with a lot of fear, depression and isolation, because it is a degenerative disease … and so a lot of people say that there’s a joy in a community that they’re able to connect with. They leave classes walking taller and smiling more,” Karlin said.

However, it’s undeniable that music brings joy to people, and that’s beneficial, Berghoff said.

“But there’s something different that happens in dance, because you’re learning something new, learning choreography, and listening to music and rhythm. A lot of studies are showing that synapses in the brain fire in a beneficial way that don’t fire when you’re on a treadmill or bicycle. I’ve had Parkinson’s for nine years and you could barely tell,” Berghoff said.

For more information on the Invertigo Dance Theatre, visit the group’s website at www.invertigodance.org.