DANCE DIVA

Teacher Janet Heunis leads a nationwide dance movement for healthcare workers.

While there are plenty of people around the world who are showing their support for health workers by applauding nightly, there’s another way to offer your thanks that’s gaining momentum. Brisbane school teacher Janet Heunis has started her own movement, calling on people to dance in their driveways every Sunday night as a show of support for those on the frontline in the fight against COVID-19. “I saw that other countries had ways of thanking their health workers and essential workers, and Aussies seem to like a dress up and a bit of a dance, and I just thought that would be a good way to get people out on a Sunday night to say thank you to essential workers,” she says.

In addition to the weekly ritual of dancing, Heunis has been creating parodies of hit songs to offer some levity during the pandemic, and to inspire others to join in with the dancing.

Even if people might think it’s “kind of nuts”, Heunis says the dancing and parodies are her way of coping amid the pandemic. “It just distracts me and gives me something to focus on, and I’ve never really worried about looking silly in front of others,” she says. “It’s a good feeling to make other people laugh.”

For the primary school teacher, driveway dancing has prevented her worrying about the challenges of teaching while social distancing measures are in place. Heunis has had to juggle teaching children in person and online, as well as looking after her own kids. “Teaching has become a lot more full on, having to deliver lessons in two different modes,” she says. “My colleagues are just amazing. The amount of work and preparation they’ve done, reaching out over the holidays to their students to make sure they’re doing okay ... it’s pretty special.”

Knowing how much essential workers are having to deal with at this time, Heunis is enjoying bringing people together to show appreciation for them. “It’s about saying ‘thank you’ to others and also just coming together as a community, and feeling good, and feeling like we’re doing something good in a time that’s pretty stressful.”