150 attend Day of Dance

Women put on their dancing shoes Saturday during the second annual Day of Dance for Health.

About 150 women attended the event, where they were treated to an opportunity to exercise with dance, learn about heart disease, and participate in health screenings.

Attendance was down from the first event which Mercy Health for Life Director Tina Rockhold said was due to the weather.

"Despite bad weather and multiple events in the community, we felt that was a good turnout," Rockhold said.

Participants had the chance to meet Richard Thompson, a cardiologist at Overland Park Cardiovascular, Inc.,who gave a presentation about women and heart disease. Rockhold said Thompson took a lot of questions from the audience. Thompson was chosen to speak at the event because he will be providing cardiovascular services at the Mercy Medical Plaza later this spring.

"It was a nice introduction for him, the community got to meet him," Rockhold said.

Participants were offered 30-minute dance lessons from seven local dance instructors. The styles of dance included ballroom dancing, rock and roll, country-line, Zumba, clogging and belly dancing. According to Rockhold, the dance was a hit.

"It ended the morning with a lot of energy," Rockhold said.

Rockhold said that even though the events sponsored by the Spirit of Women are fun, the goal remains to affect people's lives to make a difference in their health care.

One participant was certainly affected by the event. Local resident Barbara Cassidy participated in the event and said it was just what she needed.

"It really inspired me, it reminded me of some things I need to check out," Cassidy said. "It was mainly a big reminder to check on your health."