Duluth East dance team raises money for teammate with cancer
The Duluth East dance team held their annual dance show on Wednesday evening to showcase local high school teams, studio teams, and college teams in front of their friends and family. This year’s event recognized the team’s seniors and supported Shimia Nord, a teammate with cancer.
“A huge part of this East show is about showing up for Shimia and how much we support her,” said teammate Aeris Allan. “We are here for her. We are so dedicated and we just love her so incredibly much.”
Head coach Kim Chick described Shimia as “driven” and is glad to be able to raise funds for Shimia and her family through a silent auction held at the dance show.
“She is constantly always looking for joy and how to get better at things,” said Chick. “She’s strong-willed and level-headed and mature and she wants to be a lawyer after she graduates high school, and you can totally see that in how she communicates and how she approaches things.”
Shimia’s life changed on July 5, 2023, when an emergency room visit resulted in kidney removal and diagnosis of Stage 3 Renal Cell Carcinoma. Doctors had cleared Shimia, but the cancer returned. She was diagnosed with Stage 4 Renal Cell Carcinoma in December of 2023.
In January of 2024, Shimia started her first immunotherapy infusion and oral medication. Passionate for dance, Shimia has remained part of both the Duluth East dance team as well as Just for Kix in Duluth despite the difficulties she faces from aggressive cancer and the side effects of treatment.
RELATED: Duluth East’s dance showcase spotlights dancer battling cancer
When asked about her favorite memory with Shimia, Chick described a recent experience of going to the hospital with her.
“Although that doesn’t sound like it should be a favorite memory, she’s just really funny and engaging with the nurses and the staff and I was just really impressed that she knew all of her medications, all of her doses, she’s just an advocate for herself and just made me really proud and happy of the human that she is,” said Chick.
More information about Shimia’s journey as well as an opportunity to donate to support her family through this difficult time can be found at this GoFundMe link.