Why should we be dancing with our doctors

i work at a hospital

i’m on my feet all day

i interact with patients and staff

and caregivers and i make them feel

better

i’m not a doctor i’m not a nurse

i didn’t go to medical school

my job is to make dances

i am a movement artist in residence at

the georgetown lombardi

arts and humanities program at medstar

georgetown university hospital

in washington dc what exactly does that

mean

as an artist in residence it’s my job

to see the hospital as more than the sum

of its parts

i use movement to foster a culture

of creativity and community building as

part of the hospital experience

me and my three fellow movement artists

lead

dance encounters for patients and

providers

right on site we use

dance to transform a space sterile

and void of personality to one

pulsing with possibility

every october the arts and humanities

program

has our day of dance

on this annual day a small cast of

dancers

weaves itself through the hospital units

and lobbies and hallways

we are a movement choir

for the past three years i have directed

and choreographed

the day of dance today i’d like to tell

you

what it’s like

our dance begins in the hospital’s

cancer wing

in the main atrium our resident musician

anthony begins playing his violin

and the dancers enter one at a time

striking a shape like a statue

across the atrium a middle-aged

gentleman

previously slouched in his lobby seat

perks up to see what’s happening

as the music swells the dancers move in

unison

incorporating gestures that represent

the breadth of circumstances of a

hospital visit

woven in with graceful and lively

sequences

anthony’s soft violent sounds are

drifting up to the offices on the second

floor

we encounter a group of medical students

and catch them by surprise

on their usual route through the atrium

after the opening sequence the group

moves like molasses in a

slow motion processional down the main

artery

of the hospital hugging the wall to one

side

and dancing with just our arms on the

other

we smile and say hello to the bewildered

janitors and administrators

as we slowly amble past

we pause and gesture to allow an elderly

woman pushing a companion

down the narrow hallway

a line of people has started to build

behind us

mimicking our movements with curiosity

and delight they look like they’ve

almost

surprised themselves

one of our followers way back in the

line is dr nick

dr nick is an orthopedic resident he’s

been sent by his supervisor

to represent the whole orthopedics

department in our dance today

dr nick has no formal dance experience

but today dance is not about training

or performance or perfection

today dance is just about saying

yes

we make our way outside and engage in a

series of

solos and duets on a patio

it’s a high foot traffic area right

outside the main entrance of the

hospital

dr nick is fully invested now

his inhibitions are starting to fade

with the contagious effect of our dance

and music

even as visitors and staff his

colleagues

pause to watch

we make our way back inside and up to

the chemotherapy unit

the staff know we’re on the way and

they’ve given us

enthusiastic permission to enter

they’ve also given the patients the

opportunity to

open the curtains and participate

and witness in our dance

or to take hold of a rare moment

of agency and close the curtains

and opt out of this experience

we share short intimate dances with the

patients we see

in the unit those who are awake anyway

leading up to our day of dance we had

published a map

with our root and stopping points and

shared it with the whole hospital

network

so as we make our way into a sprawling

intersection

where the hospital’s four main buildings

intersect

some staff have wandered out of their

units to see us

pass by some

jump in right away with abandon

surprising their colleagues

others watch skeptically unsure what to

make of the dancers in bright shirts

and their violinist overtaking the

usually bland

fluorescent hallway

i spot a stretcher coming down the

hallway

i gesture our universal sign for pause

and we glue ourselves immediately to the

walls to make space for the people to

pass

we offer the transport team and the half

conscious patient

some encouraging gestures as they pass

by

next we scatter through a waiting area

where people are awaiting news of their

loved ones

in surgery we look them

in the eyes we take in their

fatigue their fear

their sorrow and we dance for them

we head upstairs to the pediatric unit

where a group of young patients has been

gathered into the playroom to watch us

they sing and dance and clap along

as we exit a mom stops one of our

dancers

and thanks her for a moment of grace

in an otherwise endless year in

pediatrics with her child

in her eyes there is a look of

conflicted joy

relief for indulgence in a moment of

beauty

even when her child was in pain

we encounter a security guard a familiar

face i’ve come to know

in my years there he smiles broadly

and encourages visitors to make way for

our

passing parade

a few minutes later the resident robot

rolls past its mechanical beeps and

pivots

now a proud solo in our chorus

such a diva

our dance has made its way back to the

atrium

where a group of staff on their lunch

break

are waiting for us along with some

unsuspecting visitors

we enter and invite everyone to close

out our dance with us

most do while others make their way to

the edges

to watch but they stay

and they’re captivated

my fellow movement artists lead everyone

through some stretching

some breathing and we shake it all off

in a

grand finale of sorts

in that moment it doesn’t matter

why any of us are inside the hospital

that day

it doesn’t matter if you’re a head

surgeon

a patient a kitchen hand

what matters is that in that moment

we are alive and we are together

you might be thinking doesn’t all of

this

get in the way the answer

is yes and that’s

kind of the point

every element of our event

the choreographers the collaborators

the timing the route has been

meticulously designed to disrupt

just enough with my

innate understanding of that hospital’s

corners and crevices and ebbs and flows

we were able to build something that was

equally

playful and practical with safety

remaining our number one priority

we didn’t just dance in the hospital

we danced with the hospital

our day of dance challenges the idea

of what a healthcare space could be

even for just a moment we create a

culture that invites people

to say yes to something expressive and

personal

we give people a reason to look up

and take a breath see something

beautiful

when we do that we jangle the stagnant

air we shift the vibrations of the

hospital

and we change how it is experienced

when we interrupt that norm we can begin

to

reimagine our healthcare spaces

could a hospital not only be a place

that promotes

science and innovation in medicine

to heal and save lives

but also foster creativity and community

building

as part of that

the impact of our day of dance

reverberates

through the whole georgetown community

we hear from returning patients and

staff

year around about the resident delight

of encountering us on that one day a

year

one staff member described it as like

a prayer

a patient told us it made me grateful

that i had to come in for treatment that

day

dr nick who began his journey with us

a little shy and uncertain left us

with bright eyes and a transformed

perspective

he saw the hospital in a new light that

day

too when we invite

participants to tap into their

self-expression

we empower their humanity

when that experience is facilitated with

mutual respect

and understanding and within the

realities of a living breathing hospital

then that hospital can serve in a whole

new way

it becomes a place that beyond the

poking

and the prodding is a place that

celebrates possibility

and reminds everyone what they are

staying healthy for

when we begin to swim in those ideas

then we can ask

why just one day a year

why just one dance

at the arts and humanities program when

we make space

for dance we also make space for stretch

breaks for the staff

in the units yoga classes in the

hallways

adaptive dance classes for patients with

disabilities

arts integration as part of medical

school curriculum

pop-up duets in the lobbies before long

a cultural shift begins to emerge

along with bountiful and thoughtful

innovation

between artists medical thought leaders

and interdisciplinary experts as the

health care system evolves to meet the

demands and circumstances

of our time

when that happens we all have more of a

say

and how we experience the health care

system

no matter how or when

or why we encounter it

that agency above all

is a priceless gift of empowerment

and access and compassion

and that is why we should be dancing

with our doctors