I am dedicating my fundraising efforts for the 24-Hour Dance-a-thon to my grandparents on my mom’s side, who both died of cancer. My grandmother was a strong presence in my life (my childhood especially) and I wish that I had had the opportunity to meet my grandfather; if he was anything like my mom, I’m sure we would have gotten along great.  I would also like to make a dedication to my aunt, who is a survivor of breast cancer and one of the strongest people I know.

Compared to the other (amazing) people on the San Francisco team, I am a newbie to Lindy Hop, but I have a feeling that I’m going to stick around for a while. Given the plethora of fun and interesting things to do in the city, I thought I was going to only take Lindy Hop lessons for a month or so, then move on to something different. One year later, I’m not only still taking lessons from Nathan and Cat (pictured), but it seems that I’ve truly been sucked into the world of Lindy Hop – frequenting dance events around SF (ex. Cat’s Corner, The Rent Party, Lindy in the Park), participating in the SF Lindy Exchange, Lindy-bombing public spaces (so much fun!!!), attending a Lindy Hop workshop at San Luis Obispo (which has some of the friendliest dancers ever), and even scheduling my travel plans around Wednesday nights at Savanna Jazz. This 24-hour Dance-a-Thon is a new (and major) milestone in my personal journey with Lindy Hop and I am excited to meet and learn from all of the experienced dancers there – both on my team and from other parts of the state/country.

What do I love about Lindy Hop?

1. The dance itself is a lot of fun! I love the connection you have with your partner, the athleticism of the dance, the quirkiness of particular moves, and the energy of a room full of Lindy Hoppers. I feel like I have grown substantially as a dancer during the past year and there is still so much left to learn! Watching or dancing with people who have been at this for 5+ years is pretty daunting to say the least, but they give me something to aspire to. Which leads me to…

2. The people in the Lindy Hop community are amazing! With most activities I’ve been involved in, it’s the people that really get me to stay. Lindy Hop is no different. I have met so many inspiring, friendly, and good-hearted dancers in SF and beyond. Thanks to all of you for welcoming me so warmly into your fold, patiently teaching me new moves or ways to improve my technique, and not being upset when I accidentally kick you or spin off in weird directions (I still have to work on the dizzy problem…).

3. I love love love live music. Besides being a Lindy Hopper, I am a proud groupie for a handful of talented musicians. Their  concerts are like a rejuvenating breath of fresh air that clears out all of the junk cluttering up my mind and leaves behind the simple belief that life is beautiful and happiness is simpler and closer than it seems.  If you add the normal energy of a live show (the musicians feeding off the audience who’s feeding off the musicians, everyone feeling touched by the music in their own way and connected to one another) to the normal energy of a swing dance venue, you have a winning combination. My all-time favorite band to dance to in SF is the Fil Lorenz Orchestra (pictured). If you’re in town, don’t miss them!

]]> http://www.swingdanceforlife.com/danceathon/diane-cheng/feed/ 0 http://www.swingdanceforlife.com/danceathon/brian-zimmer/ http://www.swingdanceforlife.com/danceathon/brian-zimmer/#comments Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:08:03 +0000 brianzimmer http://www.swingdanceforlife.com/danceathon/?p=110 Click here to sponsor me in the 24 Hour Dance-A-Thon!

Anyone who knows me at all knows that I Swing. It has to a large degree become a part of who I am. I have gained many of my best friends through this dance. It has become much more than just a hobby for me – it is my passion, it drives me, and it provides a way for me to just let loose and de-stress.

Lindy Hop has given me a reason to travel across the US to see new places (Seattle pictured above), make new friends, take part in competitions, and learn from the best dancers in the world. Because of it, I have friends from Hawaii to Seattle to Ohio to Boston that I can call up and visit if I ever come through their neighborhood. But more than just that, it has given me a community of people in my area who I share life with and who encourage and support me.

Most of my close friends would also tell you that purpose and meaning are very central concepts in my life. For the most part, up until now the way that I tried to find meaning and purpose into my dancing was by teaching everyone that I could how to dance and show them the joy that can be found in Lindy Hop. The Dance-A-Thon strikes me as an amazing way to continue trying to give more purpose and meaning to my dancing. I am fortunate enough to not have been directly impacted by the devastating effects cancer can produce, and I hope to keep it that way. However, I can see the effects of it in the lives of many of my friends, and though it is in no way the same, I still share in some aspect of their pain.

Due to my obsession with science during school (and the fact that I’m a huge nerd), I was nominated several times in yearbooks as “Most likely to cure cancer.” I think it’s pretty obvious that on my computer science career path I will not likely be able to do such a thing. However, with your help, I can still contribute to the fight through the journey I am on with swing dancing.

Click here to sponsor me in the 24 Hour Dance-A-Thon!

Christine and I competing at ILHC

Donate Here!!

I never really thought that dancing would be a big part of my life, but now it is.

Lindy Hop came into my life about two and half years ago. I started taking classes at City College of San Francisco with not only a great teacher and leader, but an awesome friend, David Blood. I can’t thank him anymore, continuously pushing me further and further to just get better at Lindy. But because of Capt. Blood, over the past two years, I’ve met great teachers, Carla Heiney and Nick Williams, made great friends, Christine, Kenny, and the rest of the Hot Bloods, and competed in a few Strictly Lindy and Jack n Jill Competitions as well as many performances.

As I began my travels for Lindy events, Christine had the great idea of doing the 24-hour Dance-a-thon. Last year, the one team that came down from San Francisco raised just over $7000 in the span of a 2-3 month period. As I wasn’t able to fund raise as much as others, I was one who helped keep a person on the floor in the late shifts. I ended up staying awake 23  of the 24 hours. My plan is to hopefully stay up the entire time.

Here’s a video of Christine and I during one performance

Yacht Club Swing- Christine and Ben

Two years ago I started swing dancing because of my work. I’m an internal medicine primary care physician in Chinatown. What?! What does swing dancing have to do with that? Well, our hospital happened to have a Dancing With the Stars-themed holiday party for fun, and I got volunteered to be one of the contestants.  I had no idea what I was getting into.  Learned two routines in six weeks – phew!  But I was hooked.  After the party was over, I continued taking lindy hop classes and going out dancing, two, three, four…or more…times a week.  I feel more fit than I have in years, and I’m totally having fun doing it!  Plus, I’ve met some great friends.

I’m joining Team San Francisco this year to help raise money for cancer research, hoping to use my hobby to benefit others more broadly.  For people like my grandmother, who was in excellent health until she died of colon cancer.  For all my patients who have fought against cancer.  The father of two, who happily told me he had quit smoking, but was diagnosed with lung cancer barely two months later, and lost his battle in less than a year.  A young woman with a newborn baby, who had one older sister die of breast cancer, another sister diagnosed with breast cancer, and subsequently tested positive for a genetic mutation which gives her overwhelmingly high odds of developing breast cancer as well.  The woman who, after two months of back pain, learned that she had metastatic breast cancer – after five years, she is still a fighter and living a full and active life.  For them and the so many others.

I would like to make dedications to four people.  The first is a friend who died of leukemia in 2nd grade.  His name was Martin.  The second dedication goes to good friend Liz, a survivor.  And the third goes to my dear friend Joann, a very courageous fighter. The last goes out to my best friend Aaron. He is lucky, if you can say that about a guy who has had two brain tumors and two brain surgeries.  He is still with us thanks his doctors.  I believe I can make a difference too.

Why am I participating in the 24 hour Dance-A-Thon?

I love dancing the Lindy Hop and got involve with a fantastic performance class at CCSF.  Two years ago Nikki Marvin and Mikey Pedroza visited my Lindy Hop performance class to teach us a dance routine called the Black Bottom.    Nikki and Mikey were from Atomic Ballroom in Irvine and they performed the routine at the 24 hour Dance-A-Thon.   They encourage us to join the Dance-A-Thon to benefit Cancer Research and have a great time dancing.    So, last year Christine Nguyen organized our performance team, the Hot Bloods, to make a trip down to Irvine and participate at the 2009 Dance-A-Thon.   I was excited about going to the event but because of a schedule conflict missed the event.    So, I promised myself that I would make it a priority for 2010. 
        Video of Hot Bloods performing the Black Bottom

The second reason I’m attending is to benefit Cancer Research because of all the people I know who have been effected by cancer.   I still remember the days when cancer was almost always terminal.   Because of charity events like the Dance-A-Thon which help fund cancer research and treatment, today many people have the hope of defeating cancer and living a full and healthy life.

I’m dedicating my efforts to my Brother-in-Law  Tommy Lee.   He had Liver Cancer as a result of Hepatitis which is common with Asians.   The 5 year survial rate for Liver Cancer is still less than 10%.   He passed away from Liver Cancer in 2003 after a long courageous fight.   He never gave up the hope of defeating cancer, even after his doctors had given up.   It’s my hope that with more research, Liver Cancer will one day be a battle easily won.

I need your help to reach me goal of $1000, so please sponsor me for $25 or more, but any amount will help.     If you love to Lindy Hop consider joining Team San Francisco.

Thanks for your support!

                Click Here to Donate

Then last year, I found out about the 24 hour cancer dance-a-thon. Wow! Yeah, I like walking, but I love lindy hop. Two years ago, I started going out dancing. Everywhere. And every night. So, you can imagine how I excited I was to find out about the 24 hr dance-a-thon.

the floor at last year's dance-a-thon

And this year, I’m doing it all over again. And this year, I am dedicating it to three friends. Rick, who past away from leukemia several years ago. I don’t have any pictures of him, but lots of memories. Also, his wife, Irene, who survived breast cancer.

on the left is the lovely and talented, Tu (she did the make-up for my friend's wedding)

I can’t forget my friend, Tu, who a couple of years ago went through chemo. She told me that if the cancer came back, she would not go through with the treatment again because it was that unbearable. Hopefully, she’ll change her mind the longer she stays cancer-free.

What more can I say. This dance-a-thon gives me the opportunity to raise money doing something I love.

I’ve never had so much fun raising money.

If you think this is a good cause (and it is!), please sponsor me here.

Or, better yet, join the San Francisco team. You don’t have to dance 24 hours straight (unless you want to, of course).

I discovered my passion for swing dancing slowly.  With my children more independent in middle and high school and a little more time to myself, I was looking for a fun exercise to reduce stress after work and to stay fit.  I enrolled in City College of San Francisco’s (CCSF) beginner swing dance class in the evening and persuaded my husband to do the same.  That was about 6-years ago!  I can honestly say that swing dancing have postively changed my life.  Besides having fun and learning new dance skills, along the way I made new friends, met inspirational and awesome people, discovered love for various music, and discovered a whole new community. 

Swing dancing has enriched my life.  So glad that I at least found it mid-life!   As a small gesture to contribute back to the community, this year I have joined the San Francisco team to compete at the 24-Hour Cancer Dance-a-Thon to raise funds for cancer research and treatment.    I’m also dedicating my dances in remembrance of loved ones lost to cancer (my father, grandfather and brother-in-law, Tommy Lee) and to cancer survivor - Leland, my brother-in-law. 

Swing dancing is a lot of fun (see my highlights below).  If you like to dance, come join the San Francisco team.  If you don’t have the time or dancing feet, you can still help by donating to this worthy cause.  Sponsor me and help me reach my fundraising goal! All contributions will go toward the City of Hope Hospital and is tax deductible. 
Click here to donate

Memories and Highlights of my journey below.

My Father, Wing Cheung (Oct. 9 1928 – Nov. 11, 1987).   Proud Grandfather with 1st grandson, Gary

My favorite dance venues in San Francisco:

• Lindy in the Park (LITP) – free swing dancing & lesson on Sundays at Golden Gate Park
• Verdi Club with Stompy Jones – Tuesday night
• CCSF Swing Performance Class and Cat’s Corner – Wednesday nights
• 9:20 Special – Thursday nights at the Russian Center
• Friday Night Swing – Friday nights at Cheryl Burke Dance

Two awesome dance instructors who helped develop  my passion for lindy hop:  David Blood from CCSF and Carla Heiney, Choreographer & Lindy Hop Champion of many awards

Inspirational dancers I met on the dance floor: 

Left Photo: Cheryl Burke from Dancing with the Stars 
Right photo: Frankie Manning (at 93) - Ambassador of Lindy Hop & person who invented aerial steps for lindy hop, me, &  Layton Duong – Feb. 2007

Memorable dance events:

  Big John Special performance at Rhythm Louge

                         CCSF Hot Bloods perform at Galileo Academy’s 2007 Fundraiser

 CCSF Hot Bloods 2008 Performance Team

                                    Dance Performance at Jack London Square

 Halloween 2009 Dance

         Dancing on Voyager of the Sea cruise ship – Nov. 2009

HOPE YOU ENJOYED these highlights and hope to see you on the dance floor to discover the joy of swing dancing!

Click here to donate

Every day I am amazed by all that lindy hop has given me — friends, heroes, a welcome escape, a means of expression, a sense of community, discipline, fulfillment, accomplishment, even a new outlook on life. But alas, despite all the happiness in the world I am still a neurotic at heart, and as my weekly dance count crept up to 5, 6, 7 nights a week, and the smile on my face grew bigger, I couldn’t help but feel a bit GUILTY deep inside.

Who was I to have all this fun? Wasn’t this dancing thing frivolous and… selfish? Dancing had done me a lot of good, but how was I helping anyone else?

Then I found the 24 Hour Dance-a-thon. Like a marathon, but dancing. Friends and family sponsor participants who pledge to dance with their team for 24 hours. The proceeds go to City of Hope hospital, a leader in cancer research and treatment.

I had to go. I scrambled to get a team together. We called ourselves the Hot Bloods in honor of the man, David Blood, who had taught most of us to dance. I’m certain we were the first team from San Francisco to attend this Southern California-based event. We were proud. We danced (a lot), slept (an hour), ate (although none of us remember that part), and made merry. I saw hundreds of people who were as happy as me, hundreds of people who loved dance so much that they were going to trap themselves in a gym, dammit, and dance for 24 hours.

At the end of the day, I saw all that joy and happiness translated into a tangible gift to our fellow humans: $127,000 to City of Hope.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am not athletic. I will probably never run a marathon. I think it’s a little late for me to become a doctor. But I can dance. And on March 13th, I am going to dance my little @#% off for a fantastic cause.

My main dedication is to my mom, Eulalia Rego, who passed away from ovarian cancer on January 2, 2009. I also further dedicate my fundraising efforts to our family’s friend and cancer survivor Elaine Fernandes, who was a close friend of  my mom.

In Loving Memory of Eulalia Rego

September 8, 1950 – January 2, 2009

A few weeks before my mom passed away, I sat down at home with my mom, Eulalia Rego, and slowly looked through an old photo album with her, one that I had never seen before. I saw black and white photos of my mom as a little girl, along with her sisters, brother, father, mother and relatives. I saw my mom as a flower girl, and then later pictures of her when she was traveling between Africa, Goa and the United States. I don’t claim to remember all the names and faces she mentioned – my attention was fixed on the pictures of her – but the experience of thumbing through that album with my mom raised in me the sense that the woman sitting next to me – who I had seen primarily through the eyes of a son and had come to know as “Mom” – had actually been much more than that to many other people.

The experience reminded me of a story I had read called Little Selves. It was about a seventy-five year old woman, who on her deathbed relives all the memories of her life…and all the “little selves” she had been. Who had my mother been? Who was Eulalia Rego? Who were all of my mom’s little selves?

Eulalia was daughter to Maria Rosa & Leonardo Rego. From a young age, Eulalia was a dependable and hard-working daughter, helping both her mother and father with the operations of their family businesses. She was older sister to Judy, Perry and Maria. As a child, Eulalia could be both slightly mischievous, while at the same time playing the role of the protective older sister, for example as she would drag her younger siblings to a questionable part of town to meet her favorite playmates, but sternly warned them: “Nobody tell daddy!” At other times, she could be the ringleader of the girls…for instance if Perry was in trouble and needed to be rounded up, Eulalia had a strategic plan, instructing Judy to flank him on the left, Maria on the right, while she went down the center to capture him.

When it came to looking after her sisters and brother, Eulalia always had a fierce determination to do things The Right Way. Despite being ill, she flew to North Carolina, to celebrate Perry’s 50th birthday along with Maria and Judy. Late in the evening, they realized that they had only one candle for the birthday cake, but that wasn’t good enough for Eulalia. Late at night, she took the girls out in the car, battling with freezing weather and snow covered streets and finally came back with something that was acceptable…they celebrated Perry’s birthday with a cake full of 50 candles. She didn’t want to cut any corners.

Eulalia was a friend, imaginative child and adventurer. In a letter to my dad, Eulalia’s childhood friend Zenobia described the walks they would take through the streets of Kenya…and she enumerated all the creative excuses my mom made up to convince her to sneak away and take a walk off the beaten path. I learned that my mom came up with the brilliant idea of cloud racing in the Kenyan grass expanses…a feat which involved running from one end a giant cloud’s shadow to the other.

Eulalia was wife to Oscar Dias. My dad has often described his first encounters with my mom in that she was not only beautiful, but he felt immediately comfortable with her. According to him, what made Eulalia a great wife was that for however many minor squabbles they had over the years, when it came down to what they cherished most in their lives – their children, their families and their friends – they were always on the same page. My dad remembers her as a private person, brave and selfless. In her battle with cancer, he felt that she always downplayed how she was feeling to spare him or anyone of us any suffering. Oscar respects her independent spirit. He notes that the song she claimed as her favorite early on in their marriage — “I did it my way” by Frank Sinatra — is now one of his favorites too.

Eulalia was a hardworking employee and co-worker, who left an impression on the people she worked with. One of these people she met in the workplace, Liz Wong, remarked how she came in as a temporary employee to take over a position as Liz prepared for maternity leave. Eulalia – or Lia as she was usually known at work – was friendly, eager to learn, and ready to tackle anything.  She was a diligent worker and this was evident as Lia stayed on as a permanent employee when Liz returned.

More than that, Liz recalled my mom as “a great friend, [someone with] a positive outlook on life, and a big heart. Lia was the type of person who was always willing to listen to your troubles, and would always have one of two responses. She would either say, 1) “everything will work out” or 2) she would share the humor of the situation and turn the conversation into something “funny”, making you forget whatever was bothering you in the first place.

Eulalia was a mother and caregiver to myself, Rosemarie and Rowland. She was the one who held our hands as children, taught us to tie our shoes, dressed us for school, made our lunches, patiently removed bee stings and thorns from our fingers, bandaged up our scrapes and cuts and played referee to our 3-way sibling rivalries. She helped us manage our chores and extracurricular schedules and drove us to games and practices – in my case often waking up as early as 4:30 in the morning for early morning rowing practices.

With only a high school education herself, Eulalia worked tirelessly so that we could each have the best education possible. Though the three of us children each had our differences with mom at times, we knew one thing for certain and that was that if we ever had an argument with DAD, mom would be right there in a heartbeat to take our side and defend us…even if dad was probably right. In her final days, my mom often emphasized that she loved all three of her children equally, each in different ways, but not any one of us more than the other.

For four years, Eualia was a cancer survivor. Although she felt her share of fear, sadness and frustration over her terminal illness, most who knew her would agree that she met those challenges with a stoic patience, grace and courage. She accepted the circumstances that God gave her, and as she faced a frightening maze of medical decisions, she took a practical attitude: what decision needed to be made now? What was the next step she had to take in order to live?

Eulalia was a nature lover and an outdoorsperson. She loved to go camping, hiking and walking. Echoing childhood stories, I’ve heard she would tell friends to come along with her saying, “oh this walk is just 5 minutes long” only to find themselves still walking an hour later.

Eulalia liked to garden. I think there was a direct correlation between the severity of my mom’s illness and the blossoming of plants and flowers around our family’s home. All of a sudden there were roses in the front, flowers in the back…a new organic vegetable planter. Some of my mom’s favorite plants were her orchids…flowers that she rescued from being discarded at work, which she then patiently nursed back to health.

Eulalia was a voracious reader, and like the flowers blossoming around our home, so too the shelves around our home filled up with her books. Among an eclectic collection of fiction, romance, and adventure stories you could also find a healthy smattering of self-help books. With titles like: Excavating your Authentic Self and Your Life in Your Hands, I believe that my mom always had a strong drive toward self-improvement and betterment. She honestly wanted to understand people and herself.

These were just a few of Eulalia’s little selves: daughter, sister, friend, co-worker, wife, mother, cancer survivor, nature-lover, gardener, reader…and she was certainly many more little selves to many other people: cousin, aunt, sister-in-law, godmother, niece, playmate, mentor, confidant and more. There are stories in each of our hearts and minds that would take another lifetime to recount. Eulalia lived her own rich and full life, and she lived it “her way.” It was cut shorter than any of us wished for. With wry sense of humor, she joked that God was dyslexic and that the plan was to take her at age 85 not 58. Still, let us all feel fortunate for the time we did spend with her. May we always cherish our memories of her and let Eulalia’s spirit live on in our hearts and minds.