And have you pondered that poster? The one that urges everyone to “sing like no one’s listening, love like no one’s ever had a broken heart, and dance like nobody’s watching”?
Does it seem you’re stuck in the cancer-care journey? Have you ever secretly savored a fantasy of busting a move out of hospital-halls hell and escaping dreary doctors, to some carefree destination?
Ever feel isolated or sad in your individual cancer-caregiving? Maybe immersion in collective joy could help you beat those blues?
So, when’s the last time you’ve danced yourself into a happy, healthy, sweaty lather?
When’s the last time you’ve tried new steps? Can fancy footwork work to get you to a healthier mind-set? Won’t wiggling on the floor nurse your spirit? Can twisting and turning to the tune of music not just elevate your pulse, but also help you turn from fear to elation?
above: Dance Therapy Unit, just 15 minutes from our hospital
This weekend a crowd of new friends, all linked by their cancer work (jobs) or destiny (treatments) met up at a jumpin’ local food-music-and-dance joint. Gumbo and beer was optional. But joy was inevitable. Everybody smiled, sweated, got their grins on, and ended their evening with “when can we do this again?”
But, what if you’ve never done or even seen some new style of dancing before? Dare you dance bravely on some wooden floor where you’ve never gone before? What would you do? What will you do?
above: zydeco recording artist Marcus Ardoin does a sound check to assess the artistic health of the relative volume levels of his band’s many amplifiers, standing in the crowd on the dance floor
No problem. There’s a first time for everything - including joyous things like new dances, not just horrid things like cancer.
And it’s way easier now to learn and try new dances, than in prior years. New tools can help you find your way.
1. www.Youtube.com. Dance-lovers have posted many free video-with-audio demonstrations. You too can nab some how-to lessons on the free, public Web portion of the global Internet. Missed that move? Then you can stop and do an instant replay of that happy footwork. Such Web-delivered education is how a new global Guinness Book of Records level was set last summer for simultaneous, planetary, multi-sites performance of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” dance, with over 800 dancers in my town (teaching videos and other details are available at www.thrilltheworld.com).
2. Instructional DVDs and Videos. Serious dancers love instructing and including novices. Some have gone semi-professional, producing (literally) step-by-step, break-it-down, show-you-how coaching tools. You can watch ‘em in the privacy of your residence, hotel, or hospital room, and on some computers if it’s a DVD rather than a VCR. (That’s how I finally mastered zydeco, despite dancing many other styles for decades.)
3. New Public Library Functionality. Many big-city libraries have added a -collection-capture-concierge- feature to their Web sites. You can not only look up in their catalogue the content, titles, and availability of dance videos (or whatever other items might be your interest). You can also instruct ‘em to transport your selected items to your nearest branch, for easier pick-up (and less cost in time, gas, and environmental impact). Let your fingers do the walkin’ (on your computer keyboard), so your legs can get to dancing sooner out on the floor. Put your tax dollars to work, to working out your cancer-concierge doldrums.
4. Alternative Therapy. Check out whether a progressive vendor of cancer care in your area offers not only the more mainstream “alternative” or “integrative” aids to spirit and body - like yoga, massage, acupuncture, music therapy, meditation, aromatherapy, etc. - but maybe also group dance sessions.
5. Ask Somebodies To Go Dance! Many cancer patients are advised that they need to learn to ask for help, especially during times of significant fatigue from chemotherapy or other treatment. Don’t wait for well-meaning contacts to telepathically divine what you need or prefer, for your support. Caregivers too may need to bite the bullet of pride or shyness, and tell their well-wishers what they want and need for their psychic support. My recent caregiving-coping request to friends was “Can we meet up at this dance scene that I’ve heard about and had recommended? I need to shake off the daily hospital heebie-jeebies!”
6. Ask Somebody To Dance! You don’t always have to “dance with the one that brought you” to the dance. Fortune favors the bold. An 87-year-old lady asked little old 50-something me to dance at a recent zydeco event. She showed the widest smile there and stole the show with her own groovin’ moves.
above: Who’s not having a good time?
There’s a reason that Lee Ann Womack’s 2001 song “/I Hope You Dance/” was a mega-hit: her message hits home in the human heart.
So, get away from nurses checking your patient’s heartbeat and other vital signs. It’s time to revive your vitality with the beat of the music. Get out on the dance floor and get your backfield in motion!
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