Art and advocacy

I have been so privileged in my life to be around the arts — what a supportive, embracing world it can be!

I have been dancing since I could string three steps togehter, and kept going all through college. I quit after that, but through my very dear friend and mentor, Jennifer, got back into it a few years ago.

I began by taking classes. And then it became much, much more than that, thanks to Lucy, who is a force of nature in a 5-2 frame.

Dance isn’t just about movement of the body for her. It’s movement of people, of thought, of perception.

So she began the Breast Cancer Dance Project. We danced and raised money for the Witness Project at UAMS. It helped bring a mammography truck and other resources to women who couldn’t afford them. Melanie, another good friend, was her co-consipirator.

We invited breast cancer survivors to share their stories and dance with us. Our motto became “Sisters moving together for a cause.”

We did that for three years. And this year, Melanie has started another project, this one for autism awareness. This time, there are children with autism joining in the performance. (The Autism Dance Project is Saturday, April 2nd at 7:00 and Sunday, April 3rd at 3:00, 2011 at Arkansas School for the Blind.)

I can’t adequately explain how big this dancing for a cause is — how empowering it is for survivors, for the children, for the dancers, for the audience.

It shows that we can unite, all of these different bodies and backgrounds, and make an impact that speaks larger than a press release or a policy statement.

I hope one day that we can do the same for multiple sclerosis.

I’m ready now.