DANCER DOWN, NOT OUT: Dalia Rawson, who grew up in Saratoga and has danced with Ballet San Jose since 1991, was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin's lymphoma early this year. It was a particularly shocking discovery, since she and her partner, Michael Doerner, had just completed a very taxing season dancing major roles in The Nutcracker.
Fortunately, Hodgkin's is considered the most curable form of cancer, and Rawson took a leave from the company to start an aggressive treatment program--12 weeks of chemotherapy, a two-week break, followed by five weeks of radiation therapy at Stanford.
Rawson's mother, who has never missed a performance of her daughter's, drives from Brentwood to San Jose to take her to each appointment in Palo Alto. "Her dedication and strength inspire me to stay positive and to be as strong as she has proven herself to be," says the dancer. "I am now almost halfway done with the chemotherapy, and the doctors are thrilled with my progress. The presence of the disease has already been dramatically reduced, and they see no reason not to expect a complete cure by the end of June."
Meanwhile, she has not put her life on hold. She and her fiancé, Gareth Hughes, a software engineer at NVIDIA, were married Feb. 16. They had planned a June wedding, but that date would fall near the end of her treatment, when she would probably not be feeling well.
But the couple didn't want to postpone marriage, so they opted for Valentine's Day. However, since that was a treatment day, a two-day postponement was in order. Instead, the bride brought most of her bridal party to treatment with her, including both sets of parents and siblings.
Her in-laws, who live in Australia, own an orchid nursery. Dalia had baked chocolate chip cookies to bribe the nurses and share with other patients. "It was a bit of a circus, as most chemo patients don't bring so many guests along with them, but it was a fun day at the hospital for me."
Two days later, the couple were married in the San Jose Clerk-Recorder's Chapel in a more elaborate ceremony than that chapel has ever seen--30 people crammed into a room seating 16. Childhood friend Manisha Shah was maid of honor, Dalia's sister was ring-bearer, and the processional was "And I Love Her" by The Beatles.
What with tears from most everyone in attendance, the woman who performed the ceremony lost her voice and forgot her lines, which only added to the drama and poignancy of the occasion. "I will never forget the love I felt in that room," Dalia said.
As for the immediate future, the new Mrs. Hughes has a new wig, and ballerina Catharine Grow knit her a green hat, "so I should be able to get through the hairless phase with as little difficulty as is possible for a somewhat vain ballerina."
At home she is working toward a college degree through a distance-learning program from Skidmore College called University Without Walls. "I expect to be renewed, refreshed and in a sense reborn after this traumatic and life-changing experience," she says.
HONORING VOLUNTEERS: Tim Myers was the speaker at a library event that honored the 170 school volunteers in the Saratoga area. Myers, a professional storyteller, is a professor at Santa Clara University and an author.
When he read Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are to his kids, he was amazed and switched to writing for children. His most recent book is Good Babies, and forthcoming is a collection of "crazy bedtime poems and quiet bedtime poems."
Volunteers are honored each year with a new book purchased for the library's children's section. Each contains a bookplate with the volunteer's name therein.
ST. PAT'S: Annual St. Patrick's Day dinner will be March 17, 6 p.m., at the Saratoga Senior Center, a fundraiser, with De Anza Kiwanis providing the food. Tickets at $20 are at 408.868.1257. Stage Crew, a barbershop quartet, will sing. Members Ed Graff, Chuck Mollet, Ric King and Dave Kaufman will teach all four parts of "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?"
WINNING WALK: The fifth annual Mustard Walk was proclaimed a stunning success, having grown from a few hundred to more than 2,000 visitors. A petting zoo was added, and Jean Hayes took photos of children on the donkey carts. The number of artists increased dramatically.
Folks were reconnected to the agrarian history of Saratoga, and "a bridge was built in Saratoga that day," said chairman Phylis Ballingall, referring to the fact that the Mustard Walk was held in conjunction with the Lunar New Year Festival.
A mustard-colored ribbon from the Warner Hutton House and a red ribbon from the community center met at the theater, symbolizing the meeting of East and West. Paul Conrado and Mayor Norm Kline cut the intertwined ribbon.
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By Mary Ann Cook