About Us

How it all started

Natalie Muschamp had seen the development and the decline of a person with Parkinson’s within her own family. Her aunt Ineke Spoorenberg sadly lost her partner to Parkinson’s. After this loss, Ineke walked a pilgrimage from Amsterdam to Rome in 2010 and with this raised 13,100 euros for the Dutch Parkinson’s Foundation. 

In 2015 while studying dance at the University of Malta Natalie became aware of the Dance for PD program in Brooklyn, New York, and felt compelled to help people with Parkinson’s disease through dance movement. 

In order to be able to host these classes free of charge, Natalie applied for funding and founded Step Up for Parkinson’s. In 2015 while studying dance at the University of Malta Natalie became aware of the Dance for PD program in Brooklyn, New York and felt compelled to help people with Parkinson’s disease through dance movement. In 2016 Natalie started a pilot study in Malta Parkinson’s Disease Association and realised how these classes could benefit not only the person with Parkinson’s disease but also their caregiver. In March 2017, with the guidance of the then President of Malta Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, the organization received funding to host two classes per week for two years. The organization grew rapidly from 8 to 200 participants, hosts 10 classes per week in Malta, and has eleven trained teachers working for the organization. In 2018 the organization received funding by winning the second price at the Malta Social Impact Awards and Natalie received the JCI award for her work with Step up for Parkinson’s. On the 13th of December 2019, Natalie received a State Award Honor for her service to the Republic of Malta during Republic Day.

Movement Classes for people with Rheumatoid Arthritis

It was evident that people suffering with Parkinson’s disease often were also suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) in Malta. This was not only recognized by the person with Parkinson’s disease but also the carer. In order to help both, our team is trained in dance for Parkinson’s and also in specialized movement for people with RA. 

Research in Malta

As a major in Dance studies at the University of Malta Natalie has conducted extensive research for the use of dance classes to help patients suffering with Parkinson’s Disease (PD). Natalie continued her studies and conducted a Master’s by Research and conducted a 8 weeks intervention with the hypothesis; Improving the Quality of Life for Both the Person with Parkinson’s and the Caregiver: The Contribution of Movement as an Artistic and Expressive Medium. 

Her research has shown the beneficial effects of these movement classes on the quality of life of both the person with Parkinson’s disease and their carer.

Education

The organization continuously offers  ‘Train the trainer’ courses and continuously improves the quality of the methodology through ongoing research. 

What started as a small class with 19 people participating has grown now to a community of over 200 people, where movement therapy, as well as breathing exercises, have been proven to improve the quality of life. 

Our Patron
Her Excellency
Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca

Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca was the ninth President of Malta, after being active in politics for forty years and serving in parliament for 16 years. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Law and Humanities as Notary Public from the University of Malta. She was awarded an Honorary Professorship by the University of Warwick, UK, and an Honorary Doctorate of Law by the University of Leicester, UK.

She has dedicated her life to the wellbeing of the most vulnerable in society and contributed to bringing about effective changes in the social policies of Malta.  Her major achievements while President of Malta include the setting up of The Malta Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society, The Malta Trust Foundation, and the Emanuele Cancer Research Foundation Malta – foundations that she chairs.

In April 2019, she was elected President of Eurochild, a pan-European network of children’s rights organizations with over 176 members from over 34 countries.

She is an internationally acclaimed speaker covering various areas, including children’s rights, women, and vulnerable groups including migration.  She is a Member of the Council of World Women Leaders; Adviser to Women Political Leaders; Patron and Ambassador of the International Girl2Leader Campaign; and, an Honorary Member of the Società Italiana di Storia della Medicina. Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca is a UNIDO Goodwill Ambassador, a Champion for the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa (IDDAIII) and a UNWTO Special Ambassador for Sustainable Tourism.