I attended the Fin Fun Weekend in Troy New Hampshire on Saturday.

My favorite part of the day was when the Finnish dancers came on stage to perform.

I was slightly confused as one of the “dancers” was in a wheel chair.

You can imagine my delight, and happiness in humanity, when I found out that the group had modified the dances so that their friend in the wheel chair could still dance.

I was reminded of the Finnish word “Sisu” which is difficult to translate.  It means “Gutsy”, or “unusually brave” or perhaps just “tough”.  But seeing the dance group on stage, it meant, “We’re all sticking together, her being in a wheelchair isn’t going to mean she has to stop dancing!”

There was a sense of “We don’t care if the dance has to be slowed down a bit.” There was a sense from everyone of “What do you mean you don’t think someone in a wheelchair can’t be part of a dance group? We’ll show you dancing!”

That’s SISU to me.  This Finnish dance group was defining dance in a way that was inclusive of their friend.  That group was saying to that wheelchair, “You can’t stop her from dancing! We won’t let you!”  That’s a special type of bravery.

The dancing was beautiful. The Finnish clothing looks so lovely and comfortable.   It seemed like everyone on stage was having a great time.

The audience enjoyed the performance, and saw a wonderful example of SISU right before their eyes!