Therapy Patients Hold Dancing Competition

For those who watch ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars,” it’s apparent that the weeks of training improves the celebrity’s physique, strength and confidence.

It’s the effects of dance training that has inspired one outpatient rehabilitation clinic in El Paso to organize a competition called “Dancing With the Therapist.”

Silvia Abril Marquez is a home-based patient of Sante Pediatric Services. Thursday night, she danced with therapists Monique Alvarez and Mark Delgado around her family’s living room. Marquez is actually the one who came up with the idea for the competition, said Alvarez.

“We created scoring criteria based on therapy, including making costumes and how you’re using their therapeutic goals for fine motor skills,” Alvarez added.

Marquez, who has cerebral palsy, said she wanted to dance to Shakira, “Because she moves her hips.”

Seven patients are participating in the competition, which takes place Friday night.

“They get to do a lot of the exercises and in a way that they enjoy it,” Delgado said. “And they get to put it up on stage in front of friends and family so it’ll be fun for everyone.”