Virginia Mason Bainbridge Island Medical Center will host free, professionally guided dance classes for individuals with Parkinson’s disease starting Saturday, Jan. 19.

Organizers said the classes, led by the Seattle Theatre Group, will provide a safe and creative environment in which participants with the progressive neurological condition can use the movements and grace of dancing to improve their balance, coordination and gait.

The Saturday classes at Virginia Mason Bainbridge Island Medical Center, 1344 Wintergreen Lane NE, will be held from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 19; Jan. 26; Feb. 2; Feb. 9; Feb. 16; March 2; March 9; and March 16.

To register, call 206-518-5232 or visit the Seattle Theatre Group website for more information. The Virginia Mason Center for Healthy Aging is a sponsor of the classes.

Officials note that dance is an effective mental and physical therapy for men and women with Parkinson’s. A 2010 report, available on the National Institutes of Health website, concluded that “the benefits of dance include improved balance and gait function as well as improved quality of life.”