On September 8th I un-ironically posted 4 letters on Facebook: P A I N.
It was an unfinished thought…
On September 15th I got an answer. And a never-ending story.
Dear friends,
It is a great shock that I have been diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic lung cancer. It hasn’t truly sunk in. But what has is the radical change that my life has taken as a result. As I take a moment to publicly share this information, I am not sure what to say about it. Maybe I want you all to know that I can’t currently do as much as I would like. Maybe it’s because I don’t want you to feel like you have to dance euphemistically around the topic. (now accepting videos of euphemistic dancing!) It’s definitely because I need it known that I welcome gallows humor –if you cross a line, I’ll let you know, but you may have to try hard. Probably I don’t want to be secretive. It gets confusing.
In these early days what I have discovered is that I have truly awesome friends who will help me do what I want to do in the same spirit I like to do it in. Most everyone in my life has run towards me in this difficult time – not away. It’s only been 5 weeks since the diagnosis and while my energy is low, my spirits are, well, not high, but I feel heartened by the people in my life.
A few brief details. On my birthday in April this year I began to have neck pain. Naturally that was old age asserting itself, I said. Nothing that a little
Hot
Cold
Gentle mobilization
Isometrics
Rest
Stretching
Vibration and cool
Soft tissue massage
Theragun
Cupping
Acupuncture
Graston fascial work
Tens
Physical Therapy
Limón
Ballet
Beach rest
Swimming
Icy hot
Ibuprofen
Tylenol
And TIME
couldn’t fix.
Alas, the problem continued to get worse and my sleep diminished to a mere few hours and when I couldn’t manage it any longer with Ibuprofen and Tylenol, I found myself dressed and sitting on the stoop at 5am waiting for Norman to come out and collect me on his way to work at the NYU Langone Emergency Department.
By that evening we experienced the shock of what was going. I was kept for observation and admitted for a day for tests. Ultimately I had radiation on my neck Oct 3-8. This was brutal. (cont'd in comments)
It was a fabulous birthday!
Thank you dear friends for marking my birthday! It has been a year! What a year. A year that marks before and after. And now leads into a new year that, as Christopher Hitchens described “...is something so predictable and banal that it bores even me.” But that boredom and mundanity only represents one part of my life – albeit one large part that demands my acknowledgement. Nonetheless I continue to live my life as fully as possible – teaching, creating, working. My current status could go on for many years. You’re not done with me yet!
So thank you for your birthday wishes, they are very welcome and appreciated. My heart is truly warmed by your care.
Photos are of my class @Peridance of amazing people, friends. @jeywhy@saintsoftness@diannawarrendance and many more!
About last night! A midnight celebration of @marthagrahamdance at 100! and another trip around the sun for @juliagleichdances !
🤍
Happy Birthday Julia! all my love🤍
We’ve got mail! 💌
Painter and designer @brenda_zlamany and choreographer @juliagleichdances discuss their unprecedented partnership in portraiture and dance.
Catch 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧/𝘗𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘵 this Friday through Sunday, March 20 to 22, as part of @nortemaar ’s COUNTERPOINTE13, and read their postcard on our site (link in bio).
📸: Photos by Brenda Zlamany
1 - Annie Freeman, Kara Chan, Dianna Warren and Mikaila Malia
2 - Annie Freeman in 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧/𝘗𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘵
3 - Brenda Zlamany painting Mikaila Malia in her Brooklyn studio
#dancenthusiast
#nortemaar
#counterpointe13
#juliagleich
#brendazlamany
I’ve been working on a new dance with my collaborator @brenda_zlamany and it’s about time i put up some photos! The show is March 20-22. Ticket link in bio. There are 6 commissions on the program this year.
#collaboration #nortemaar #counterpointe
46 Gordon earlier this year in its first theatrical iteration. A collaboration with @nicolecherubinistudio . The work explores Virginia Woolf and the deconstruction of the sitting room and the establishment of the Bloomsbury Group. You can see the next installment of the work danced in a gallery entitled 46 Down Below focused on the reading of surrealist Leonora Carrington and her plight, this Saturday Feb 7, at 2 and 2:45p @friedman_benda
#leonoracarrington #ceramics #sitespecificdance #nicolecherubinistudio #virginiawoolf #bloomsburygroup
Costume tests underway for this weekend’s performance, 46 Down Below, in collaboration with @nicolecherubinistudio at @friedman_benda #leonoracarrington #ceramicsanddance
2025 has not been a great year, but it’s easy to only share bad news. So I won’t bury the lede. The clinical trial I am on has shown promise and the measurable tumors have shrunk substantially. So that’s really good news. And there’s more, my grim days have largely passed and I am managing to get enough nutrition again, thanks to an anti-psychotic drug. Wait, what? Yeah, I didn’t want to take this drug (Olanzapine) for nausea and appetite because of its description, but at low doses turns out it has the desired effect and I’m grateful to be able to live a little more normally again. Skin side effects are still a pain in the ass, and the fingers and toes, and the GI tract, and the mouth. But never mind, I have to find ways to normalize this. LOL
Having gotten more calories I am back to teaching with joy. Can’t believe it! I was prepared to walk away. During class I couldn’t stand for long. I couldn’t demonstrate as much and I watched the clock. It was devastating. I thought it was my future. Students gave me a sort of goodbye with all sorts of foods that I might try eating. I adore them. Then… the following week, after regaining somewhat of an appetite, I was back!!!! Not 100%, but able to teach with some enthusiasm. And things have only improved since. BTW, apparently the key to regaining strength is Omaha Steaks filet mignon—I ate 3 in three days! Worth the price.
And so go the trivialities of my cancer treatment. I feel a little spoiled in a very weird way. As though the annoying trials of my treatment aren’t challenging enough and I should be suffering more. It’s a very odd state of affairs. Probably stems from the assumptions about how cancer is treated—but I am getting the science magic it seems. So I’m grateful, for science, for friends and family. But still… let’s hope 2026 is a little better!
To lift me out of myself, send a 30 second dance (yes the original brief was a “euphemistic dance,” but I’ll take anything). I have gotten a few good ones: all the way from London The Tully Collective and in NYC Rachel Cohen’s puppets—sound up! I had no idea how they would cheer me!
