JOURNEY

The non-profit organization was built on ambitious and inspiring projects, such as mountain climbs and a dance performance with people suffering from neurological diseases, while connecting with different associations with scientific and social dimensions.

2011 : Toubkal Project

With the audacity of wanting to change the image of a disease and remind people that physical activity is therapeutic, a team of sport and health professionals trained a group of 12 people with multiple sclerosis and set up an expedition to the summit of Mount Toubkal in Morocco (4167m). It was a world first! It is narrated in a report made by RTBF: "Toubkal 2011, an inner mountain".

More information here

2014: Kinéshiphilia Project

  • Opening of a pilot project of dance for people with Parkinson's disease at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liège.
  • Opening of weekly workshops in Brussels, Liège and Libramont. 
  • Training of the first adapted dance teachers with David Leventhal, founder and director of Dance for PD in New York.

2015 

  • First dance show, with 9 unique choreographies, performed by people with Parkinson's disease in front of 500 people in Libramont

  • European premiere, reported by J.-L. Lahaye (RTBF) in a report: "le mouvement sublimé"

  • Creation of the non-profit organisation FIT YOUR MIND

  • Opening of adapted physical activities such as running and Nordic walking in the province of Luxembourg
  • Continuation of dance classes
  • Training of new teachers with David Leventhal
  • Opening of Kinesiphilia courses in Flanders and Luxembourg in 2016

 

2017

  • First annual meeting, more than sixty of our members meet in Brussels

  • Participation in the World Dance Day for Parkinson Disease. Kinesiphilia represents Belgium on an online platform that gathers similar groups around the world

  • Training of new teachers given by Maïté Guérin

2018

  • Annual meeting of dancers and teachers at ROSAS, the dance school of Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker in Brussels

  • First participation in “Sportons nous bien”, Ligue Handisport Francophone


2019

  • Annual meeting of dancers in Merksem
  • Dance Marathon Ghent
  • Participation in the Dance and Parkinson Congress in London

  • Participation in the World Parkinson Congress in Kyoto - the Crane Dance Project - via videos with groups from Brussels, Liège, Zaventem, Turnhout and Merksem


2020

  • Production of 2 documentaries on Kinesiphilia in Flanders by MEDINET TV with Margriet (link)
  • Opening of muscle strengthening and power walking courses in Libramont

  • Opening of weekly online classes to adapt to Covid constraints

  • Creation of the YouTube channel for free access to stimulating videos (link)

2021

  • Opening of Nordic walking courses in Bertrix

  • The protagonists of Kinesiphilia are asked to be partners in the project "Alors on danse!" of the future international dance school in Liège, the Mosa Ballet School

The Kinesiphilia dance show, a turning point in our history

Conceived as a journey to the antipodes of illness where dance and music are the instruments of a quest for happiness; art has come to the rescue of medicine!

 

The meeting between the neurologist Olivier Bouquiaux, the dancer Bérengère Blaszczyk and the professional dancer Maïté Guérin was decisive. Each of them had the dream of setting up a dance project for people with Parkinson's disease. This dream became a beautiful reality filled with humanity and humility.

 

After a year of work, the Kinésiphilia show took place on 8 March 2015, at the Libramont Cultural Centre with dance groups from Libramont, Neufchâteau, Liège and Brussels. The backstage of the event was the subject of the excellent report: "Le mouvement sublimé" by Joachim De Smedt broadcasted on RTBF.

 

It was a great moment of union between the dancers, the teachers, the companions and the volunteers who all made this adventure unique.

 

 

"Arms stretching out, hands opening, eyes shining in the harmony of notes and movements, where those who give and those who receive merge and melt into the same space of generosity, as if suffering vanished into love... This is what I will remember."

 

Testimony by Mr Eppe André

 

 

After such a success, the courses had to be continued.

They had tasted the pleasures and magic of dance.

They had coveyed their emotions

They had expressed themselves to an attentive and receptive audience

They had put their hearts and bodies into it

They had changed the image of themselves, with confidence and courage

 

 

They accomplished a miracle. 

 

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