The Day of Dance at MedStar Georgetown

MedStar Georgetown recently hosted the “Day of Dance” which brought healing music and movement to patients, visitors and associates alike.

Beginning in the Lombardi atrium, passersby heard and saw something unusual: violin music reverberated through the lobby as dancers moved to the rhythm of the music. Dressed in soft grey and white tones, 12 dancers moved in sync with the goal of infusing open spaces in the Hospital with lightness and joy. Anthony Hyatt, the violinist, kept a peaceful, yet playful tempo and engaged everyone as the dancers (or movement choir) slowly and gracefully made their way from the atrium to other parts of the Hospital, including hematology/oncology infusion centers.

The movement choir and musical accompaniment are a part of an ongoing initiative to bring the healing arts to MedStar Georgetown. “We believe movement is a part of health,” says Julia Langley, faculty director of the Arts and Humanities Program for the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. “Integrating arts into the Hospital helps patients and their loved ones see that beauty is around them and they can take part in it.”

Qualitative studies show that music is beneficial to the practice of medicine. “The arts are a way to help patients heal from the inside out,” Langley says. “It’s a creative and constructive response to illness. If we can study arts like science studies medicine, we’ll be doing good in the name of cura personalis.” The Day of Dance at MedStar Georgetown is just one way that the Arts and Humanities Program aims to care for the whole person.