A popular inspirational phrase about self-expression urges us to "dance like no one is watching."
At Baptist Health's Wertheim Cancer Institute, there's a dance group that not only watches each other but watches out for each other.
Baptist has teamed up with contemporary ballet company Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami (DDTM) for "Dance & Wellness" —a program tailor-made for cancer patients and their families.
The program offers patients movement classes in a safe space where they can talk to each other about shared experiences and individual challenges.
Numerous studies have shown that performing arts activities — including music, dance/movement and theater therapies — serve as highly effective, non-pharmacological tools in oncology care.
Baptist Health's Arts in Medicine Specialist Ana Padrón Martin says one of the benefits of such therapies is their ability to pull cancer patients out of depression.
"They're more likely to go out socially, to get out of social isolation, which is such a huge concern in our society," she says.
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Many of the patients are undergoing grueling treatment like chemotherapy.
Jennifer Kronenberg, co-founder of Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami, says the dance steps and movements taught during class can be modified to ensure that they're not too physically taxing.
"For instance, we can have them sitting down if they want to sit down," says Kronenberg.
"Some things can be adapted just for the upper body, the arms, or vice versa, just for the legs, the lower body," she says.
Both Padrón Martin and Kronenberg say they notice patients opening up to the instructors — and each other — with emotions that perhaps they don't always impart to their physicians.
"Just the essence and expressivity of dancing itself allows them that freedom," she says.
"Whereas when they're with their doctors in a regular appointment or checkup, I would imagine that they feel the sense they need to be strong and sort of hold themselves together."
The program is funded through the end of this year with a grant from South Arts, a regional organization that supports artistic initiatives across the Southern United States.
As part of the program, the collaborative effort between DDTM and Baptist must offer two public-facing performances by next summer. That means any patients who want to show off their dance moves can get the chance to do so along with members of the company.
Kronenberg says that although she and the instructors like to refer to the patients as "dancers,'" the program isn't about teaching them the rudiments of dance.
"It's much more about using the movement and the art that we all love so much to really just create and share moments of joy, expression, human connection."
