b'patients at the bedside, whohastheskillstoaccompanyadancehospitalstaff,and class such as this one, so I am very grateful tomembers of healthcare Cathy DeWitt, musician in residence, for hercommunities outside of expertiseandher willingnesstoplaythe hospital.music for the class. I will now pass the batonThe dance classes I to Cathy to describe the benets of music onteach are tailored to meet the mind and body from her perspective. the specic needs of the My name is Cathy DeWitt, and I have theMS community, and symptoms such as fatigue, privilege and the joy of doing some liveover-heating, loss of balance, sensory issues, accompaniment for Whitneys Dance for MSand weaknessare taken into consideration. class. Dance and music, music and dance,Each class explores dierent dance styles, they go together like love and romance.including various social and folk dances from Music has always been a big part of myaround the world, as well as ballet, modern, life. I grew up in a musical family; my brother,Tai Chi, and yoga. The movements are fun, a prodigy pianist, gave recitals at age 5. Whenchallenging yet achievable, and they focus on he was in high school, he would practice inimprovingmemory,balance,mobility, the mornings, so I would often wake up to theproprioception, strength, and creativity. Theclass provides participants with the opportunity soundsofChopin,LisztorRachmanino.to connect with their peers in a playful, safe, Sometimes that really impacted my morningand supportive environment. At the end of dreams.class,Iwilloftenhearparticipantsshare When I was very young, my fathers sisterthings such as, I came in feeling emotionally and her family lived with us for a while. Theirunwell, and now I feel calm and better, or I son Pete was very kind to me, even though Iwas tired before class, and now I feel like I got was just a toddler for much of that time. A fewa good workout and I am energized. Another years later, Pete joined the Air Force and wasgreat comment that sums up what I hope a test pilot for new radar controlled airplanes.participantsexperiencefromtheclassis, One day when I came home from school, mywhen I am in dance class, I am no longer a mother told me that Pete had died in a crash.person with MSinstead I am a dancer. I was about 8 years old. I know you haveAnother critical component of the dance choir practice at church today, but if youdclass is music, which provides an external rather just stay home you can, she told me. Ifocusthatcanhelpparticipantsbypass decided to go to choir practice because I knewcertain perceived movement limitations. For singing would make me feel betterand it did!example, we might focus on the rhythm of I guess that was my rst personal experiencethe Cha Cha. Instead of overthinking the steps, with the healing power of music.we focus on the rhythmic patternslow, I continued singing and playing music allslow, quick, quick, slowand before you through school and college, and was playingknow it we are all doing the Cha Cha!with my bands out in the community here inThe class utilizes both recorded and live GainesvillewhenArtsinMedicineartistsmusic, and there are benets to both. It is, of found me and recruited me for the programcourse, a little challenging to nd a musician at Shands Hospital.13 msfocusmagazine.org'