A Local Dancer on Dancing with Type 1 Diabetes

Name pronunciation: Grace Pie-lo | Pronouns: she/her

By Madison Huizinga, DWC Blog Editor

While there is still so much social progress that needs to be made in the dance world, it’s exciting to see studios and companies taking steps to celebrate inclusivity and diversity in ways that didn’t exist years ago. Celebrating inclusivity in the dance world involves inviting dancers with all kinds of backgrounds and identities into the industry, and making them feel welcomed as they are. This also includes celebrating dancers with autoimmune diseases. DWC Ambassador Grace Pilo is passionate about advocating for dancers with autoimmune diseases, particularly those with type 1 diabetes, like herself. Read on to learn more about Grace’s dance journey and advocation efforts!

“I’ve always been such a wiggly kid,” Grace says, sharing that as a youngster, her mom sought to involve her in an activity where she could release some of her restless energy. She says her mom signed her up for dance and she instantly fell in love with it. Today, Grace dances with Momentum Dance Academy & Ensemble in Burien, Washington.

“In 2015, I was diagnosed with a life-threatening autoimmune disease: type 1 diabetes,” Grace shares. “When I was in the hospital, all I wanted to do was go back to dance.” Before her diagnosis, Grace’s involvement with dance was largely recreational. But after she learned she had diabetes, she shares that her passion for the art form deepened. “I realized why I love to dance,” Grace says. Dance is an opportunity for Grace to be herself and not think about anything else, particularly when she’s performing on stage.

According to the organization JDRF, type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that results from the pancreas ceasing to produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone that the human body needs to get energy from food. Type 1 diabetes strikes both children and adults differently and has nothing to do with diet or lifestyle. To help manage her own diabetes, Grace wears an insulin pump, which delivers constant doses of insulin on a pre-programmed schedule, and allows her to input carbohydrate information for everything she eats or drinks into the pump to calculate and dose insulin. She also wears a continuous glucose monitor or CGM, which measures her body’s glucose levels every five minutes. This information is sent via Bluetooth to her pump and phone and is also shared with her mom to help monitor. She wears both of these devices constantly and they are often visible, including to audience members when she performs on stage.

A challenge that Grace has faced as a dancer with diabetes is dancing with her medical gear, due to the way it’s perceived by others in the industry. “I feel like some doors have been closed for me since my diagnosis,” she says. “I think that people worry about it too much or think I am limited by my medical needs.” Grace says that her medical gear doesn’t stop her from being a talented dancer. “I’m still doing what I love, I just have to work harder than some at times to help manage my condition, but in the end, I’m no different than any of the other [dancers] in my class. I can still be me,” she says.

For other dancers facing similar challenges in the dance world, Grace says to not let anything stop them from doing what they love. For her, communicating transparently with her dance teacher allowed her to realize that there is nothing holding her back from being successful in the studio and on stage. “There’s always people to talk to,” Grace says. “And if you’re feeling like there’s something not right or maybe you’re not having the same opportunities [as others], just bring it up. Talk to someone, let them know how you’re feeling.”

Grace applied to be a DWC Ambassador because of the opportunity the position allows for her to advocate for type 1 diabetics and other dancers like her. She also says that Dancewear Center’s message “every body is a dancing body” greatly resonates with her, which also inspired her to apply for the program. Grace looks forward to being able to utilize Dancewear Center’s platform to reach large groups of people with her messages, particularly through Instagram takeovers.

Outside of the DWC Ambassadorship, Grace advocates for type 1 diabetics on her personal Instagram and with the Pacific Northwest chapter of JDRF, a global organization funding type 1 diabetes research. As a youth ambassador for JDRF, Grace has been a part of public outreach programs, including speaking in front of crowds at events to share her own story.

In the larger dance world, Grace hopes to see a larger cultural shift towards inclusivity and celebrating diversity, especially when it comes to dancers with medical devices or gear. She also hopes to share her story of dancing with type 1 diabetes with others to show that people with medical needs can dance proudly. “I have to wear these medical devices. I’m still a dancer and I still love to dance,” Grace declares.

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Getting to Know DWC Ambassador Grace Pilo

A Local Dancer on Dancing with Type 1 Diabetes

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