Dancing with Drea

By: Tim Lynch
Posted In: Opinion

“One-two-three-four-five-six-seven-eight” echoes through the dance studio as the SRU dance club rehearses the same movements over and over again. To non-experienced eyes such as mine, I thought the first go through was good. How I missed one dancer step on two and not three and one woman spins before the other women are beyond her, and obviously beyond me. Like a movie, takes two through 102 only seem to get better, and by the end they have it down.

“Ok now for the second part,” I hear someone call out. You mean that wasn’t the entire thing? I haven’t given the dance team enough credit.

As I sit in what once was Professor Hawkridge’s office, I try to be as unobtrusive as possible watching this dance group master their craft. Being friends with dancers since my freshman year, I’ve always enjoyed the results from all this hard work at the end of semester dance show. There has been this reoccurring feature at each dance show that has always stuck out in my mind. Where do the benefits of the shows go? Who was that woman they introduce each show, who always had a warm smile on her face and a way about her that simply inspires others?

Her name is Susan Rizzo Vincent. Her cause, to put a smile on children’s faces as they dance across the floor, funding provided by the Andréa Rizzo Foundation.

I decided it’s better to learn now than never, and doing a little research, I found this amazing program founded on a memory of a loved one. The Andréa Rizzo Foundation was founded in 2002, shortly after Salve graduate Andréa Rizzo tragically lost her life to a drunk driver. Passionate about dance and what the art form had to offer, Andréa was one to look for ways she could give back, a diamond amongst common gems. The foundation in her name set out to pursue and fuel this passion, and after raising enough funds they made their début at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

Adopting the name “Dréa’s Dream,” the foundation established the first dance/movement therapy program there, the very place Andréa had been cured of cancer as a baby. This first success put them on the map. Keeping to Andréa’s life, after raising money from Salve through a walk-a-thon on the Cliff Walk, Dréa’s Dream was able to expand to schools that meant something to Andréa; The Narragansett School, Carey School and the elementary school Andréa attended in CT. “I was sure that this was as far and wide as we would expand,” said Susan Rizzo Vincent, mother of Andréa and founder of the foundation. “I had no idea that “Dréa’s Dream” would just keep growing. We now have in place 18 pediatric dance therapy and expressive movement programs in nine states. It has far exceeded my expectations but it just seemed to take on a life of its own.”

“With the help of the American Dance Therapy Association, we have been able to find the highly qualified dance therapists that we needed to fulfill these requests,” Rizzo Vincent said.

I sit with my reporter’s notebook trying to follow the dance that’s unfolding in front of me. So far I’ve seen moves that are beyond my comprehension, and they’re just warming up. After the rehearsal, I asked one of the dancers what she thought of the program, and what they hoped to accomplish. “I think it’s great that we can continue to make Dréa’s dreams a reality” said Alaina Gizzo, a senior. “Dance is such a powerful art. It evokes emotional and physical energies that when combined produce magic.”

One of Rizzo Vincent’s favorite programs the foundation benefits from is the Dance Across America fundraiser. This program’s participants host dance shows or dance-a-thons each year to raise money and awareness for the Andréa Rizzo Foundation. “SRU Dancers have been faithful supporters of this initiative, holding a benefit performance each semester and raising several thousand dollars for our cause to date,” Rizzo Vincent said. “This overwhelming show of support is especially heartwarming as Andréa herself danced with the Salve dance company while a student here.”

“SRU dance is about so much more than just dance appreciation,” said Chris Wester, one of the junior captains whose expertise in Irish Step has amazed audiences each year. “It’s also about the impact that dance has on so many people. I feel that supporting the Andrea Rizzo Foundation every semester truly adds to the importance of the organization. Knowing that we can use our talents as dancers to help such a worthy cause means a great deal to us.”

Wester went on to say that he works particularly hard in perfecting his choreography in order to “honor the lives or Andréa Rizzo and the lives of all the children who benefit from the dance therapy the foundation provides.”

The Andréa Rizzo Foundation mission is to raise funds to aide children with cancer and special needs in accordance to Andréa’s dreams by providing dance therapy. Their website states it perfectly; “A non-profit corporation, the Foundation is dedicated to the growth and success of Dréa’s Dream, a dance therapy/expressive movement program for pediatric and young adult populations in hospitals, special education classrooms and medical settings throughout the country.” When asked to provide a message to send back to the Salve Dance/Salve Community, this is what Rizzo Vincent had to say. “‘Give to others’ has been the ever present message at Salve Regina University and this certainly was instilled in Andréa during her time here,” Rizzo Vincent said. “It became a part of her life and is now a part of her legacy. I have been continually humbled by all that the Salve community has done to help us to keep Andréa’s memory alive and at the same time support the Foundation’s efforts to help children in this special way.” This year, the estimated donation amount brought in was $1,200. Congratulations to the dance team for all their hard work.