Dancing for Hope: How Onco-Ballet Aids Breast Cancer Recovery

For Anna Wassman-Cox, the trajectory of her life was once defined by the precision of a pirouette and the grit of the professional stage. By 25, she had already lived a lifetime in dance, training with the San Francisco Ballet and performing with the Joffrey Ballet before injuries forced an early retirement. She had pivoted to business school and was three months from graduation when a breast cancer diagnosis brought her world to a sudden, staggering halt.

“Life was looking up,” Wassman-Cox recalled in an interview with CURE. “And then all of a sudden, you get diagnosed, and your whole life changes.”

That change would happen not once, but twice. It was during her recurrence that Wassman-Cox returned to the barre — not as a professional pursuit, but as a tool for survival. This journey led to the birth of the Onco-Ballet Foundation, a nonprofit that has already reached over 2,000 participants. On May 4, her mission takes center stage at Sony Hall in New York City for The Janice Jam, where patients with stage 4 breast cancer and survivors will dance alongside Broadway stars to raise funds for metastatic breast cancer (MBC) research.

A curriculum for the soul

The Onco-Ballet method isn’t just about aesthetics; it is rooted in psychological safety and neurobiology. Each class begins with a "BrainDance," based on Anne Green Gilbert’s eight steps of connecting mind and body.

"I built Onco-Ballet with a mind-body connection in thought," Wassman-Cox explained. "We keep the ballet barre the same every time for psychological safety, goal setting and confidence building."

For many patients, the cancer journey is a series of clinical rooms and loss of autonomy. Onco-Ballet offers a sanctuary. "It’s a way to process things without having to physically sit around a table and talk," she said. "The arts help us express things that there aren't enough words in the human language to express."

Challenging the stage 4 narrative

This year’s Janice Jam is particularly poignant as it features six Onco-Ballet members, including several living with metastatic disease. In a world where MBC (stage 4) is often spoken of in hushed tones or clinical statistics, seeing these individuals perform to selections from "Wicked" or "Swan Lake" on a Broadway stage is a moving act of visibility.

Approximately 30% of early-stage breast cancer diagnoses eventually become Stage 4, and 115 people die of the disease every day. By putting patients with metastatic breast cancer in the spotlight, Wassman-Cox aims to shatter the "patienthood" stereotype.

"I think people tend to lump [metastatic patients] into categories," Wassman-Cox noted. "What’s really cool about having everyone come together on stage is to show that you are still more than capable of getting up and moving. It’s supporting them right now, through movement, and giving them those moments in life that we all want."

The power of the performance

The Janice Jam was founded by Matt DeAngelis in memory of his mother, Janice, who died of MBC in 2022. The 2026 edition marks a milestone in the event’s history by integrating the survivors themselves into the performance.

Wassman-Cox highlighted the lasting impact of this artistic immersion. "Sometimes you’ll go into a store and hear a song you danced to, and you’re like, 'Oh my gosh, I know this.' It’s a nice moment that stays with people for a long time."

As Onco-Ballet continues to expand across California, New York, and Seattle, the message remains clear: movement is medicine. Whether it is through the mirroring exercises that allow for emotional release or the discipline of a traditional adagio, Wassman-Cox and her dancers are proving that while cancer may change a life, it cannot stop the dance.

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