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At the age of 13, Kat Kelly, a theater student at Syracuse University, realized her pain was caused by what she loved to do: dancing. When she was 14, she was diagnosed with a lacerated lip in her right hip, a common injury for dancers, and her hip dysplasia.

“There’s an emotional and spiritual connection to being hurt and knowing your limits when you’re in pain, and it’s full of people who can do those things without feeling pain. I’m in my room,” Kelly said.

What started as a dancer’s personal struggle quickly evolved into a thesis project painful performancea performance focused on reducing the stigma surrounding illness and injury in the performing arts.

Rene Crown Honors drama students Elana Babbitt, Jessica Seletta, Gabriela Monsivais and Riley Verry joined Kelly on Sunday night at the South Campus Skyburn to discuss how to navigate wellness in the acting world.

“This performance addresses this issue head-on and seeks to prove that with the right support, injuries and illnesses don’t have to end careers,” Kelly wrote on the event’s webpage. “Rather, it’s a normal part of this profession.”

When Kelly was diagnosed with a hip, she realized the importance of taking care of her body.

“You have to keep your body up to do what you love,” Kelly told the audience. “Doing what you love doesn’t keep your body going.”

Berry had a similar epiphany when she was 13 years old, when a gymnastics accident compressed her spine, 4 bulging discs and 1 shrinking disc, and spondylolisthesis (spondylolisthesis). The latter cannot be cured without surgery, but Very chose not to undergo it.

“I remember the first thing[my coach]said to me was, can you walk? I was sitting there thinking, ‘Can you move?’ I was in a lot of pain, and I started dancing, so my heart beat less, but the chronic pain never went away.”

I very much believe that building a community of people with health issues in the art industry can help people like her feel less alone.

“We’re already dealing with impostor syndrome in this industry…and it’s a very ‘carry on’ mentality, and on my bad days, not only do I get that impostor syndrome, but I’m physically I also have a lot of pain. “I feel alone in a room full of people dancing with me.”

When Monsivais was in high school, he had surgery to remove a polyp on his left vocal cord and had to go silent for two weeks. She said that because she needed surgery, she became afraid to use her voice.

“There is fear that it will happen again,” she told the Daily Orange. I realized that I had to actually release it and let it go.”

Kelly reminded the audience that “performance psychology” is just as important as sports psychology, while at the same time engaging the audience and eliciting laughter.

Kelly said she feels she’s been taught how to perform but not how to train. I believe there is.

“Instead, if you start by answering the question, how should this feel… you can avoid improper use and injury,” Kelly said. It puts you and your health at the center of our work.”