Over two hundred people fill the floor at the Grandin Court Baptist Church in Roanoke to participate in a contra dance weekend.
The caller's voice rings out: ♪ “Long lines go forward and back…” ♫
They’ve come from as far away as Florida, Colorado, and Minnesota. And while it is clear that all of the participants are enjoying the moment, for one dancer, there is something much more going on here. Wayland Moore is the survivor of two cancers.
At 81 years old, or as Moore likes to put it, “81 years young”, he will tell you: for him contra dancing is just really good medicine, “It’s amazing how energized I get from the dance itself.”
Moore had been involved with contra dancing for more than 25 years before he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2017. It was shortly after the diagnosis that he was introduced to the book “Radical Remission”. The New York Times best-seller by Dr. Kelly A. Turner chronicles episodes of unexpected remission.
Moore says the points documented in the stories resonated with him, “And I read that book and there were seven factors in it that, which I now see, as really supporting contra dance. And it’s just a very healthful way of being able to get good health with a lot of fun.”
Moore knew he enjoyed the dancing, but it was the COVID pandemic in 2020, which interrupted social gatherings including the dances – and a diagnosis of lymphoma, that lead him to realize just how much he had been getting out of it.
“When I look back, what I see happened, is that the pandemic killed the contra dance and I lost many factors that helped me in building my immune system and making my body stronger to resist those different things that come in that hit you", says Moore in retrospect.
Moore doesn’t discount conventional cancer treatments. But he does strongly tout the importance of the positive psychological boost that he gets from contra dancing, “It’s amazing the effect of the mind on the body. You can have the neural plasticity. You can retrain yourself to help fight off some of this.”
Moore’s wife, Cynthia, says there is no doubt in her mind the cause and effect of the benefits of contra dancing and the marked improvement in Wayland’s health. “I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that it was part of his return to normalcy. And then adding in the chemotherapy and the immunotherapy that was kind of like a magic combo. It’s a therapy for him for sure,” she says.
Once he was able to return to dancing, his health saw remarkable improvement.
He recounts the day received some very good news, “December 10, 2024, I had a scan and the oncologist took a look at the results. The results said PSA zero-point-zero-three. No cancer detected. You’re in remission. Keep dancing! I’d never suggested to him that he say that. All he knew was I loved dance. I needed to dance. I do need to dance. It’s wonderful. It’s food for the body, the mind, the spirit.”
The contra dance weekend continues as I wrap up my interview with Moore. And before I can exit, he’s back on the floor and in his element with all the others.
You can link to Wayland Moore's website and blog "WayMooreHealth.org" here.
