Vania Deonizio
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to a family of musicians, Vania was introduced to various rhythms of music and dance at a very early age. Growing up she faced a major childhood trauma that affected her life tremendously and left her with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In music and dance, she found a way to express herself, found peace, joy and, eventually, a chance for healing to take place, a reason why she dreamt of the day she’d be able to use her passion for dance to help improve the lives of others, the same way her life was improved. In the spring of 2006, while living in the United States, Vania launched Dancin Power, a nonprofit organization that broke barriers in medicine by developing the first of its kind dance program to improve the quality of life of hospitalized children and their families. Dancin Power originated a revolutionary approach to teaching adapted dance lessons to reduce the negative impact of hospital stays on children’s health, self-esteem, and emotional well-being. Since its inception, Dancin Power has helped improved the quality of life of over 16,000 hospitalized children and their families in 8 children’s hospitals across the United States. Dancin, Power enhances patients’ quality of life by creating an outlet for them and their families to express their emotions, move their bodies, give them a sense of self, provide normalcy, and help them feel uplifted. Above all, Dancin Power reminds hospitalized children that even though they are sick and in a hospital room, they are still kids and have the right to be happy!