Led by Canada’s National Ballet School and Gilda’s Club of Toronto, a new creative movement class tries to explore the potential of the body and its relationship to music.
“There’s a lot of challenges and struggle that come along with cancer but there’s also a lot of opportunities to explore different parts of yourself that you may not have even known existed before the diagnosis,” Shira Moalem, Program Director of Gilda’s Club Greater Toronto said.
Moalem also highlighted the benefit of certain programming.
“Recreational programming really allow us to provide a holistic support structure to the individual as well as the family member,” Moalem said.
Gilda’s Club is named after Gilda Radner, the famous Saturday Night Live comedian whose life was taken by ovarian cancer in 1989.
The organization gives social and emotional support to anyone touched by cancer.
“I have a brain tumour and they said it was stage three, four and I had surgery,” Tracy D’Souza, member of Gilda’s Club Greater Toronto said.
D’Souza emphasized how Gilda’s Club is a key factor in enjoying her life again.
- As Canada’s tax deadline nears, what happens if you don’t file your return?
- Posters promoting ‘Steal From Loblaws Day’ are circulating. How did we get here?
- Drumheller hoping to break record for ‘largest gathering of people dressed as dinosaurs’
- Planning a summer trip to Quebec’s Îles-de-la-Madeleine? You’ll have to pay up
“For the longest time, my life’s been on hold and this is a way of me getting back. I’ve always loved dancing,” D’Souza said.
Members participate in classes at Gilda’s Club every two weeks, allowing them the freedom to make their own creative choices, focusing on breathing, space usage and moderate stretching.
“You think of tribal dances, of rain dances, of the way people naturally move and the way people naturally express joy and anger and fear and it all comes through a physicality,” Ashleigh Powell, Community Engagement Co-manager of Canada’s National Ballet School said. “I think that creative movement gives you a chance to release those feelings and to do it in a safe place but also connecting with others who are going through the same emotions is a really special thing.”
Certain members say they undergo life-changing experiences at Gilda’s Club.
“It’s sort of like you’re coming back to life and you’re starting to do the things you used to do that you thought were over. It’s like I’m not just sitting, waiting for time to pass. I’m actually living,” Ashleigh Powell, Community Engagement Co-manager of Canada’s National Ballet School said.
Members also say Gilda’s Club is a place of positive change and incredible possibilities.
“It’s definitely one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. The stories of the people that come to this room and the courage that they have and the way they allow themselves to be vulnerable with me was just really spectacular,” Powell said.
Comments