On 11 January I went for a routine test and was diagnosed with bowel cancer. Time twisted, speeding up and slowing down.
My emotions bounced between terror and numbness. I was shocked and scared. My body tensed, creating a useless armour, and I wanted to run away, or do nothing, to freeze in sedentary fear. These were not the perfect conditions in which to dance.
But dancing was, I knew, the thing I had to do. There is abundant evidence that dancing changes the way people think, feel and behave. Science has shown what dancers have known for centuries, that dancing can lead to positive changes in our physical and mental wellbeing. I didn't know it at the time, but I had three weeks between diagnosis and surgery and, following doctor's orders, I needed to be as fit and strong as possible.
As we were in the middle of a national lockdown, and all dance studios and gyms were closed, I had to do this at home. For physical fitness I used a daily dance workout, one that would work all the major muscle groups and gently raise my heart rate.
I used a musical theatre DVD workout called Broadway. I loved this because the teacher, and the other dancers onscreen, were happy and engaging, the music was great and it had a fantasy Broadway feel. I needed fitness mixed with escapism. On top of the cardio-vascular benefits of dancing daily, I needed to get out of my head.
