Helping Cancer Patients Find Joy Through Dance
Be Hype, Be Happy sure lives up to its name. Scrolling through the dance group’s Facebook page, one can’t help but bop along and smile.
There are videos of its performances and rehearsal sessions, several of which are set to popular hits including BTS’s Permission to Dance and Camila Cabello’s Senorita.
A video from 2023 shows them performing Rachel Platten’s Fight Song at the National Stadium. Led by choreographer Ramlah de Rose, the dancers pump their fists and raise their arms in a symbol of strength in sync with the lyrics. I've still got a lot of fight left in me.
One might assume they are a professional dance company. In fact, Be Hype, Be Happy is an enrichment programme offered by the Singapore Cancer Society (SCS). Its founder, Ramlah, is a volunteer trainer with a visual impairment, and the dancers are cancer patients and survivors, some of whom are still undergoing treatment.
The group performs regularly at SCS events, including Relay for Life 2023, the event held at the National Stadium. In addition, Ramlah and her team have taken to the stage for Chingay 2020.
Performing at a national event was a milestone, but they continue to inspire even in more intimate venues.
A Love for Dance That Had to be Shared
Ever since she was a child, Ramlah has found joy in dance.
Having a visual impairment did not stop her ability to move. Over the years, her passion led her to join dance groups in school and to learn belly dancing, samba and fusion dance.
It also led her to SCS. In 2017, a friend, who was involved in SCS, invited her to join the organisation’s performing contingent for Chingay. Dancing alongside cancer patients and survivors, Ramlah was struck by their joy. Dance had the power to help them momentarily forget their problems.
Inspired, Ramlah set up Be Hype, Be Happy that same year, conducting classes as a volunteer trainer.
The classes are not just a full-body workout. The social aspect of meeting and moving with others can uplift one’s spirits, especially for cancer patients and survivors who have been through life-changing treatments.
Dancing through Challenges
The group’s journey has not always been graceful with struggles happening behind the scenes.
When Be Hype, Be Happy was invited to perform at Chingay 2020, Ramlah worried about the dancers’ health and the distance they had to cover. There was also this thing called Covid-19 which was starting to make an appearance in the news.
They completed the performance. But months later, the pandemic hit Singapore in full force, prompting the group to pause its physical activities.
Despite these ups and downs, Be Hype, Be Happy persisted with their passion. Now that pandemic measures have been lifted, they are back as a common fixture at SCS events.
Every time they step in front of an audience, Ramlah and the dancers of Be Hype, Be Happy prove that cancer just can’t stop the beat.