Fearlessly, Survivors Teach a Lesson in Dance
Joe Verdaasdonk and Cary Pangrazio had no idea why they were being called to sit in the director's chairs during Suzanne 's School of Dance Annual Recital at Batavia High School Friday night.
The men were there to see their children dance.
What happened next was the revelation of a secret kept from the men for four months.
"I was just thinking, 'Don't make me go on stage,'" Pangrazio said when he heard the emcee call his name.
As Pangrazio, of Alabama , and Verdaasdonk, of Corfu , settled in their front-row seats, a recorded message began to play over the PA system.
"We are celebrating life," the voice echoed through the auditorium. "If I could describe my experience over the past two years in just one word, it would be amazing. The friendship and kindness that I have experienced over the years is just amazing."
The voice emanating into the crowd was that of Kathy Verdaasdonk, Joe's wife. Moments later the voice of Rhonda Pangrazio, Cary 's wife, could be heard.
The two men, who thought they were at the recital to see their daughters perform, were also given a surprise performance by their wives, who both have breast cancer.
The two women danced with instructor Suzanne Humel to Rascal Flatt's "Skin," which tells the story of a young girl preparing to go to the prom while she battles with cancer.
Rhonda Pangrazio dedicated her performance to her husband and her children, Cassy, 9 and Chase, 2.
"I want to thank my children for their hugs, and kisses, and laughter," she said. "And to my prom date, and my best friend, and my first and forever true love."
Rhonda found out last September, at age 32, that she had breast cancer.
"I had a sinus infection that would not go away," she said.
She told the doctor she had not been feeling well and that she had a lump near her breast. She thought it was an enlarged lymph node. He sent her for a mammogram.
Pangrazio had cancer in 1998, melanoma, so the doctor wanted to take every precaution with her, despite her not having a family history of cancer and being under the age of 40.
The mammogram confirmed her fear. She had breast cancer.
Pangrazio finished chemotherapy on April 26. She will be taking a drug called Tamoxifen for the next five years, and will undergo bone and CAT scans next week to make sure all of her chemotherapy has eliminated her cancer.
Kathy Verdaasdonk, who turned 40 on Mother's Day, has been battling breast cancer for two years now. She and her husband Joe have three children, Sarah, 12, Emily, 9, and Zachary, 5.
For Kathy, this performance was about the celebration of her life, and her gratitude for the love and support she has received from her friends and family.
"I had no choice," she said. "It just happened. I just happened to get it. But I have a choice about how to live my life. I don't know what is in store for me, or what God's plan for me is. I just know that I am here to celebrate life. Tonight's performance is about living life, and recognizing all of the people who have helped."
Her husband Joe thought her performance was courageous. "I think getting up on stage to dance takes a lot of courage, especially for women who have never had dance lessons," Joe said. "But I think going through this whole thing (having cancer) takes lots of courage."
The idea for the special performance came when Kathy's two daughters wanted to perform a duet together to Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying," which the couple performed for their mother at Saturday night's recital.
Kathy said Miss Suzanne was not too thrilled with the idea, and she had suggested Rascal Flatt's "Skin."
Kathy said she went home and thought about the song and what it represented, and realized that this was a song her and Rhonda needed to perform.
"I knew this was going to be a tough song to dance to," Kathy said, "When they sing of (Sara Beth's) hair falling out onto her pillow, I went through that. It is very hard just to listen to the words of the song."
Not knowing Rhonda too intimately, Kathy phoned her anyway and told her, "I've got an idea, and you are not going to say no."
The two women then approached Miss Suzanne . Having no prior dance lessons, and unable to physically perform a whole song alone, they asked Miss Suzanne to join them in the dance.
She agreed.
The women met secretly with
Miss Suzanne at her studio every Thursday morning to practice. Keeping this idea from their husbands was a huge battle.
"I told so many lies," Rhonda said. "I purchased a garment bag, and hid my costume in my daughter's closet, a place he never visits."
The only person Rhonda told of her surprise performance was her daughter Cassy, who kept her mother's secret the entire four months.
Friday night, everything went as planned.
As the curtain opened, Miss Suzanne was on stage, alone, waiting for the music to begin.
Sara Beth is scared to death to hear what the doctors will say. She hasn't been well since the day that she fell, and the bruise, it just won't go away ...
Suzanne floated across the stage, bringing emotion into every thought-out movement.
The women joined Miss Suzanne for the remainder of the song.
As the performance comes to an end, Suzanne fades behind the curtain, the song plays out.
And they go dancing around and around without any cares. And her very first true love is holding her close, and for a moment she isn't scared.
Rhonda and Kathy were spotlighted as they faced the audience at center stage. When they finished dancing around and around, their husbands met them at the foot of the stage and held them close. The audience applauded in a standing ovation, and for that moment no one was scared.