Dancer Struts for Better Treatment of Disabled

By Alastair Bland

Music and motion are life for Lisa-Anice Sutphen, a San Francisco dance instructor and physical health enthusiast with four master's degrees in dance.

While Sutphen teaches ballroom, world and party dance classes at locations around the Bay Area, she directs the greater portion of her energies toward Opportunity Unlimited, a Richmond District daycare-therapy program dedicated to helping members of the disabled community overcome physiological and emotional maladies through dance, motion and physical fitness.

Sutphen's approach toward working with the disabled, which she calls movement therapy, is unique in a field dominated by more idle activities. While she appreciates the efforts of other schools and daycare centers, she believes the standard treatment regime for developmentally disabled men and women is inadequate.

"What we're doing beats the heck out of most programs for the disabled," she says. "There's more to life than art classes, color therapy, music therapy and counting change at the grocery store. These are essential skills - at least counting change is - but life consists of a lot more than that."

Physical activity and dance, she says, promotes social interaction and a breakdown of debilitating inhibitions.

"Addressing their physical problems and disabilities really gets to the heart of the barriers that prevent them from developing truly essential skills. I've seen first-hand some cases that were downright miraculous. We have people who never could talk before. Now they're instigating conversations," Sutphen said. "Treatment with motion and dance really produces some amazing improvements with behavioral problems."

Sutphen came to San Francisco 14 years ago from Seattle, where she had worked and volunteered for years with the disabled community. Already an experienced advocate and activist in her current field, she heard about a fitness class for adults called Opportunity Unlimited at the Richmond District YMCA, and she quickly found her way onboard.

"There was no one else around, and if the teacher was sick, then there was no class. So I decided it would be a good idea to volunteer."

Her presence led to a heightened level of program consistency for several years, in which time Sutphen led approximately 10 of Opportunity Unlimited's weekly classes per year.

In 2001, when the two original founders of the school left the country and moved to Israel, Sutphen took over full-time. Today, Opportunity Unlimited is based at St. Peter's Episcopal Church.

Sutphen works as the fitness director, and with the help of six regular volunteers she is currently instructing 43 clients in bodily fitness and dance, with sessions and classes in both English and Cantonese.

But Opportunity Unlimited faces an uncertain future because St. Peter's Episcopal Church is slated to close for construction within the next year. That leaves the organization to find a non-profit entity to provide funding, support and general supervision soon.

"We're looking to get a grant and expand," says Sutphen. "At this time, none of us knows where Opportunity Unlimited will go. We need a large space with room for offices and equipment storage."

Yet the fitness instructor is confident that Opportunity Unlimited will continue and expand its current breadth of operation and influence, eventually affecting the lives of its clients directly while also producing a shift in the standard of care for disabled people everywhere. Many doctors in conventional medicine, says Sutphen, tend to dismiss the greater needs of patients with disabilities.

"These people are overlooked and neglected, and I've seen members of this population who have just given up. This is what most people think of when they think of developmentally disabled people: People who are listless and drugged, just kept alive and passive."

Sutphen says that if Opportunity Unlimited's strategies and positive achievements in helping the disabled gain the attention of respected figures in the medical profession, a grant could follow.

"I'm hoping that, should we get the needed researchers and grants, we can implement a change, at least in California," Sutphen said. "I want to prove to the legislature that physical fitness is a viable and less expensive alternative to the programs they already have in place, and with our track record I think we're going to be able to get this done."

For more information on Opportunity Unlimited, e-mail opportunityunlimitedsf@yahoo.com. For information on Lisa-Anice Sutphen's dance classes, lessons and fitness training, visit the Web site at www.lisa-anice.com or call (415) 673-5424.