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