A beneficial mix of art and science
Art and science came together in a magnificent way last week when members of Smuin Ballet danced before a full house in the new Performing Arts Auditorium in Whitefish.
The talented San Francisco-based dancers were a sheer joy to watch, and at a reception afterwards we had an opportunity to talk with several of the ballet artists.
They were as thrilled to be in the Flathead Valley as we were to have them here. Surprisingly down to Earth, they regaled us with stories about learning to dance at age 2 and the challenges of remembering all the moves in some very rigorous choreography.
But a thrilling performance aside, the real reason the ballet company was on tour in Montana was to raise awareness and money for the McLaughlin Research Institute in Great Falls. This is where the science comes in.
I, along with many others I spoke to that evening, didn't know much about the institute. In its Montana setting, "away from the bureaucracy of big science," as an institute representative told us, the nonprofit research organization focuses on genetic research on debilitating diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, peripheral neuropathy and prion disease.
McLaughlin's research focuses on understanding the genetic control of normal development and disease susceptibility using the mouse as a model system.
Before the ballet began, we watched the institute's film, "Codebreakers: The Dedicated Scientists of McLaughlin Research."
Featured in the film was famous CBS foreign correspondent Barry Petersen, who talked about his wife's battle with Alzheimer's disease. It immediately caught my attention.
Petersen is one of Sidney, Mont.'s native sons and I interviewed him when he was there visiting relatives in the early 1980s. I was a young newspaper editor in Sidney and I remember being a little intimidated by a journalist who already was famous for his work. Petersen has lived and worked all over the world and currently is stationed in Tokyo. His wife, Jan, also is a journalist in Tokyo.
What struck me is that diseases such as Alzheimer's strike anyone, anywhere. It made me glad that research centers such as McLaughlin are pouring resources into searching for cures for some of our most debilitating diseases.
Sadly, I now know firsthand the agony that Alzheimer's disease puts families through. My father has Alzheimer's and is slipping away from us, slowly but surely. As you read this I will be in Minnesota for a third time this year, lending support to my mother, who's doing her best to come to terms with what can only be described as a cruel fate after 55 years of marriage.
Dr. Irving Weissman, a leading scientist in the field of stem-cell biology, and his wife, Allie Knight Weissman - both Great Falls natives - first brought the Smuin Ballet company to Montana 10 years ago to raise money for McLaughlin. They're to be commended for combining art and science in such a creative way for such a good cause.
There were many sponsors of Smuin's Whitefish performance, including the Daily Inter Lake, other Flathead businesses and many resident philanthropists. Thank you for supporting medical research.
Maybe one day the McLaughlin Research Institute will find a cure for Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease. That would be something we all could dance about.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com