It takes eight co-ordinated steps to complete a synchronised line dancing square, 12 women to become calendar girls and a shared interest to raise money for charity. We catch up with Louise Agliotti, one of the volunteers involved in creating a tasteful and discreet nude calendar as a fundraiser.
Whether it was the boot-scooting beats or the merriment of the approaching festive season, members of the Dancing Boots line dancing club in Boksburg surrendered their Stetsons and tasseled vests to create a risqué calendar in aid of East Rand Palliative Care (ERPC), formerly known as Hospice East Rand.
With ERPC personal care volunteers in their midst, the dancing damsels soon learned about the practical challenges these individuals, who offer bathing services to those registered for palliative care, often face.
Having danced together since 2021 and grown close as friends, the group decided to create a tasteful and discreet nude calendar as a way to support the ERPC volunteers.
A life shattered into pieces
In 2013, one of the line dancers, Louise Agliotti, ’s life irrevocably changed when sudden weight loss led to a cancer diagnosis.
‘It would never happen to me,’ was Louise’s mantra whenever the topic of cancer or any life-threatening diagnosis came up in conversation.
More than a decade after undergoing a double mastectomy, 13 rounds of chemotherapy and divorce, the blonde of Bonaero Park conquered the self-confidence devouring demons by baring it all in a risqué yet tasteful calendar, geared at raising funds for ERPC.
Taking a leisurely sip of her coffee, Louise lets out a weighted sigh, recounting how life as she knew it, shattered to pieces.
‘I had just turned 50, I was at the height of my career, my three children were all grown and it felt like I had the world at my feet. I was losing weight without diet and felt on top of the world,’ she said.
‘The weight kept tumbling off those nagging areas and I was in my element. How many middle-aged women can say that?’
But as her waist continued to shrink, Louise made a startling discovery.
‘In February 2012, I noticed a lump of 4.5cm in my breast. I had undergone regular mammograms, but neglected self-examinations. The results have always been clear, so I was going to let sleeping dogs lay. The cancer was aggressive, hormone fed and had already spread to 13 lymph nodes.’
Going through the motions
With the support of her family, Louise approached the disease meticulously and with diligence, an inherent characteristic of the former legal secretary.
However, little adjustments to her new found normal, slowly chiselled away are her vivacious personality.
‘Was my femininity attached to the size and perk of my breasts? Absolutely! No one ever tells you about the grieving process you go through following a mastectomy.
‘I fought tooth and nail to survive the dreaded ‘C-word’ but the scars on my chest were constant reminders of what I had lost in the battle.’
For 12 years, Louise shrunk into the background merely going through the motions of life, deflecting attention.
‘In 2024, I forced myself to take up aqua aerobics as means of investing in my health,’ she said with a smirk on her face as he recounts the elaborate use of towels in the dressing room.
‘Without knotting myself up too much, I would discretely change, insanely conscious of not expose a single scar.’
Looking around the room, Louise noticed how her peers were locked in conversation, changing without hesitation as syllables tumbled from their lips.
‘I was in awe of these ladies, they stood valiantly, comfortable in their skins, yet I was shying away twisting and shimmying in shame. I envied them all and yearned for a sprinkling of ease.’
The rhythm of a new found purpose
As a devout ballerina in her youth, Louise took another bold step to reclaim who she is and became a member of Boksburg’s Dancing Boots line dancing club.
‘As my feet fell into sync with the other members’, completing block after block, I felt my chin rising, my shoulders pulling back, and the rhythm course through my body.’
During the merriment of their year-end function in December last year, instructor Debbie Botha pitched an idea that would see willing members ditch their Stetsons and tasseled vests to create a tasteful, semi-nude 2025 calendar in aid of charity.
‘With a heightened sense of self-esteem, I put my hand up and subsequently became Mrs February,’ she said, letting out an infectious laugh.
Clad in angel wings, worn ballet shoes, and pink boxing gloves, Louise unapologetically disrobed, revealing the scars she had masked for so long.
‘The entire experience was freeing. I had been living in shame, but for the first time, in the company of trusted friends, I embraced my perfectly imperfect body,’ she said, emotion welling in her hazel eyes.
Love and support carries you
‘Your body should be celebrated and bear testament to the battles you have faced. Our line dancing group carried me as I was rebuilding my life, but being part of the calendar was the greatest celebration of an emotional war I have overcome.
‘The lack of supple bosoms is not a sign of a body that failed; rather, it is a hard-earned stripe worn by a woman who not only fought for her life, but chose to live.
‘My journey is not isolated, and women across the country are diagnosed with breast cancer on a daily basis. As terrifying as it is, it is important to be present throughout the treatment process. Approaching it with an ostrich mentality will not make it go away.’
Louise continued, saying that the support of loved ones and the companionship of friends are invaluable.
‘Take the time to mourn your boobies while embracing your femininity without them,’ she said.
‘Most importantly, do not neglect self-examinations and yearly check-ups. You owe it to yourself to actively take responsibility for your health.’
Calendar with purpose
Sales of the calendar raised R5 500. Funds were used to create handy care kits for the four teams of ERPC personal care volunteers.
The kits include inflatable basins for ease when washing the hair of patients who are confined to their beds, as well as implements that will assist in comfortably moving them.
Isabella Pretorius, ERPC volunteer co-ordinator, said the well-thought-out kits will greatly assist volunteers in offering dignified and gentle care, in the comfort of their patients’ homes.
Your body should be celebrated and bear testimony to the battles you have faced
Text: JANI DE BEER. Photo: JACQUI FERNANDEZ – CAPTIVANTE’ PHOTOGRAPHY
