The Dancer and the Cancer

By Steve Bornfeld

LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

She didn't battle the disease.

She asked it to dance.

"I'd tell people, 'I'm a dancer and I have cancer, and when I dance I feel like the cancer is leaving my body -- can I come and dance for you?' "

Mindy Krasner danced the cancer away.

One of the marquee performers at this weekend's "Dance in the Desert" at the College of Southern Nevada, the 48-year-old Las Vegan is a two-time victor over recurring Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that was initially diagnosed in early 2007, then returned later that year. Even when left bald by the treatments, Krasner hoofed her way through chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant a year ago that fortified her spiritual and emotional reserves, teaming with her physical stamina and mental toughness to kick the cancer in the keister.

But with a dancer's grace.

"When I got the recurrence, I knew immediately I had to start performing in front of people to break through my fears," she says. "I started dancing at my next-door neighbor's house and invited lots of friends. Then I started calling up places like the community college, a church, a children's school, Sunrise Hospital. I went to as many places as I could and danced for people while I had tumors in my abdomen. And every time I did it, I felt I was healing myself."

Tumor-free, Krasner will contribute an improvisational piece to the eclectic "Dance in the Desert" lineup.

"It's a compelling story and we're happy to have her," says Kelly Roth, the event's director and head of the college's dance program. "So often people think of cancer as the end of their lives rather than something they can survive. She's done it in such a vital way. Dance is an externalization of life, and for people to see her dancing and be fully recovered now is such a source of inspiration, not just artistically but personally."

Krasner, who compares chemo to having "poison put into your blood," chronicled her journey through dance and disease in a series of YouTube videos, including footage of her twirling on the beach, "dancing to the ocean breeze, like a moving meditation." Those online diaries triggered a response that aided her recovery. "While the chemo was going in me, I was getting these beautiful e-mails telling me how much those videos were touching them," she says. "It was a very powerful part of the process."

Post-cancer, Krasner decided to spread her new mantra of healing through hoofing to those similarly suffering, renting a studio on Sunset Road and creating the Freedom Dance Company, for which she is recruiting performers who've also used the spirituality of art to triumph over the pains of the body. The troupe's mission is to encourage those grappling with serious illness, and to their extended family and friends, to turn their passions -- whatever they may be -- into therapy, visiting cancer support groups, medical conferences and special events.

"After my first round of chemotherapy, I felt so much gratitude for all the people who had helped me get through it, not only family and friends but the doctors and nurses, I just wanted to give back because I had such a life-changing transformation," says Krasner, who initially found that her disease intimidated her dancing.

"When I got the recurrence, I had a fear that I wasn't good enough, and I had a lot of grief because I wasn't allowing myself to express the true joy of who I am, and I believe that is part of the reason I got cancer, though there's a multitude of reasons why someone gets cancer. I'm sharing my story with others going through life-threatening illness so they can look at their own lives, face their fears and find joy, whether through dancing or anything else."

Calling the cancer "a gift," she credits this challenging chapter in her life not only as an opportunity to remake her outlook, but also as an experience that altered her style of dance. "I started to dance just from my heart and my body followed," she says. "My body moved in ways that I never experienced before. I've had people watch me dance and say they've experienced the joy."

That joy was hard-fought and well-earned.

Advice from the dancer who kicked the cancer:

"Celebrate your lives now, because while you're getting the treatments, there's nothing to wait for -- so let's dance."

Contact reporter Steve Bornfeld at sbornfeld@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0256.