Islanders are invited to “dance to defeat” cancer at a charity fundraiser this weekend which will see a terminal brain tumour patient make her DJ debut.
‘Dance to Defeat’ is due to take place at the Watersplash on Friday 30 May from 21:00.
The fundraising event will feature local brain cancer patient Sophie Reid as a “VIP guest”.
Sophie said she was approached by event organiser and headliner Declan Evans, aka DJ Hellhound, earlier this year.
“Declan reached out and said he was organising an event to raise money for the Bone Cancer Research Trust in aid of Callum McNulty,” she said.
Callum died of sarcoma – a type of bone cancer – in 2022 at the age of 18.
The funds raised at the event will be split between Bone Cancer Research Trust in memory of the young islander, and Brain Tumour Charity Jersey – which was chosen by Sophie.
And despite having never DJed in her life, Sophie has been given a slot on the lineup.
“When I was asked to be the VIP guest, I thought Declan was just going to get me up there and open the event with a speech,” she said.
“Before I knew it, I had this poster sent to me and he came around with all of his decks and started teaching me how to DJ.”
Sophie has spent the last few weeks practising for the “big event” – which she claims “isn’t very successful at the minute”.
She explained how the opportunity to learn to DJ came about after her partner researched the benefits of music therapy for brain tumour patients.
“It’s quite funny because a few months ago, my partner Jordan told me that music therapy can really help with getting your brain neurons to reconnect,” said Sophie.
“He then asked me if I’d ever thought about taking up an instrument, and I told him I’d always been interested in DJing, so he ended up getting me a set of decks for my birthday.”
The ‘Dance to Defeat’ event is free to attend, with donation buckets available at the door.
You can follow Sophie’s cancer journey on Instagram (@sophiebambam) or TikTok (@bobtheglobcast).
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