Parkinson's can't stop these dancers
By
Fracesca Donlan
fdonlan@news–press.com
Originally posted on April 02, 2007
The dance students begin tentatively — one unsure step at a time.
But soon they push their shoulders back, hold their heads high, focus straight ahead and feel grace return to their bodies as if by magic.
Camelle Romero, 54, teaches people with Parkinson’s disease and others with coordination problems how to dance.
In her first of 12 classes at the Tony Rotino Center in Cape Coral, about 20 students, who include caregivers, form a circle. She asks them to make two promises. They must stay positive and avoid overexerting themselves.
She has everyone face the wall, which is a huge mirror.
“Look at yourself in the mirror,” she said. “And don’t say anything negative. I love myself. I’m good. I’m kicking.”
Soon couples are moving along the dance floor doing the fox trot to “Up a Lazy River.”
Wayne Ditmer, 75, who had a right hip replacement last year, dances with his wife, Bev Ditmer, 72, who was diagnosed as having Parkinson’s disease five years ago.
“We look forward to the class,” Wayne Ditmer said. “We both try to remind each other to stand up straighter.”
Rex Davenport, 76, never danced before.
“It helps me a lot,” said Davenport, who was diagnosed as having Parkinson’s disease three years ago. “Otherwise, you have a tendency to stoop.”
Romero has been dancing for 33 years and believes in its therapeutic value. She watched its healing powers firsthand after meeting
Dr. Tom Clouse two years ago.
Clouse, 55, learned he had spinocerebellar atrophy — an inherited condition causing degeneration of the spinal cord and the cerebellum — a decade ago.
The disorder robbed him of his balance and coordination. It also ended his career as a general surgeon, contributed to personal bankruptcy, divorce and depression.
But his life changed the day he walked into Romero’s dance studio. Now Clouse dances the waltz, fox trot and the tango like a pro. He can relate to other dancers struggling with balance and coordination. He spent years looking at the ground when he walked. Now he walks while “looking at the world.”
“I’ve literally been there,” he said. “I’ve been in someone else’s dance shoes.”
It didn’t take long for Sue Maxwell, director of adult services at Lee Memorial Health System, to realize Romero’s class could help patients with Parkinson’s disease. She recommends they attend the classes.
“When I saw Tom and Camille dancing it brought tears to my eyes,” she said. “Some people who can’t walk across the room can dance with confidence.”
Romero is donating her time to teach the six-week course. She’s hoping to create a non-profit arm of her dance company to support these classes.
“It’s my life,” she said about teaching. “It’s what I’m supposed to do. This program works. It’s discipline, love, spark, energy and it gets them moving.”
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