DanceAbility Stories: Part 1
I’ve mentioned that I am a professional dancer for DanceAbility International a couple times on this blog, today I’m going to share with you the impact that DanceAbility has had on my life.
I started dancing at Hosanna Dance Studio in Eugene when I was three years old. I was the only person at the studio with a physical disability but it didn’t really bother me when I got older. Three years later I attended a DanceAbility workshop taught by the founder, Alito Alessi in Portland, I was only six but it was definitely interesting to me. My parents took me to a performance at Lane Community College that was a collaboration between LCC Dance Faculty and DanceAbility within a year of the workshop. I was amazed. Seriously, it was the coolest thing I had ever seen! Granted, I was only six years old at the time but even now that show is still one of my favorites. I went to every DanceAbility show that was open to the public for twelve years.
At one point in those twelve years, Alito came and performed at Hosanna when one of the teachers threw a Disability Day for the studio. It was a dream come true for me, like I dreamt of being in the company I was such a fan of theirs. In 2014 DanceAbility started offering weekly classes for the Lane County area and I was so excited to take it! About two months later Alito subbed for our teacher and was impressed by my movement. He wanted to choreograph a dance for me and have me perform in local schools and around town, obviously I agreed to it. The first rehearsal we had I met dance partner, Jana Meszaros and it the start of a really special partnership, although we didn’t know that until we started choreographing dances left and right. That doesn’t have often between dance partner. After a couple months of performing my childhood dream came true, I was invited to join the professional company. I attended the Teacher Orientation in June of 2016, and I’m currently preparing to travel overseas to Rome, Italy this September to get my Teacher Certification. In the last almost three years, I’ve performed at the Green Show (the preshow at Oregon Shakespeare Festival), the Oregon Country Fair, The Oregon Arts Commission, Disability Services Advisory Council of Eugene, and so many other amazing places.
I actually didn’t realize how much DanceAbility has had an impact on my life until late last year. A couple months ago I was doing an interview with a journalist major from the University of Oregon, who’s also a friend of mine, and it wasn’t until he asked the question "how has DanceAbility helped you grow as either a dancer or a person?". I realized that it wasn’t until I started working with DA that I started to find self-acceptance. Being the only disabled dancer at both of my studios, I was conscious about how I moved and to be honest I still am sometimes. DanceAbility does not make you feel different if you have a movement disorder. We turn it into a common ground and we make it art. We see the abilities of disabilities and for me, I had always believed that too, but I still compared myself to my friends and the older dancers...as does every other dancer. DanceAbility has helped me not be so conscious about my disability.
In the next month or two, I will be having guest writers take over Life With CP for my first series of posts called, My DanceAbility Journey. They will be sharing their stories of how DanceAbility has impacted their lives. Guys, I am so excited for this! By sharing our stories with all of you, we will also be promoting our upcoming Teacher Intensive that will be taught by Jana Meszaros right here in Eugene! Go check it out: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1QvCPu18JvIF5XATR_zENFXp109pKayxvnO2Z9LW2Ajg/viewform?edit_requested=true
I started dancing at Hosanna Dance Studio in Eugene when I was three years old. I was the only person at the studio with a physical disability but it didn’t really bother me when I got older. Three years later I attended a DanceAbility workshop taught by the founder, Alito Alessi in Portland, I was only six but it was definitely interesting to me. My parents took me to a performance at Lane Community College that was a collaboration between LCC Dance Faculty and DanceAbility within a year of the workshop. I was amazed. Seriously, it was the coolest thing I had ever seen! Granted, I was only six years old at the time but even now that show is still one of my favorites. I went to every DanceAbility show that was open to the public for twelve years.
At one point in those twelve years, Alito came and performed at Hosanna when one of the teachers threw a Disability Day for the studio. It was a dream come true for me, like I dreamt of being in the company I was such a fan of theirs. In 2014 DanceAbility started offering weekly classes for the Lane County area and I was so excited to take it! About two months later Alito subbed for our teacher and was impressed by my movement. He wanted to choreograph a dance for me and have me perform in local schools and around town, obviously I agreed to it. The first rehearsal we had I met dance partner, Jana Meszaros and it the start of a really special partnership, although we didn’t know that until we started choreographing dances left and right. That doesn’t have often between dance partner. After a couple months of performing my childhood dream came true, I was invited to join the professional company. I attended the Teacher Orientation in June of 2016, and I’m currently preparing to travel overseas to Rome, Italy this September to get my Teacher Certification. In the last almost three years, I’ve performed at the Green Show (the preshow at Oregon Shakespeare Festival), the Oregon Country Fair, The Oregon Arts Commission, Disability Services Advisory Council of Eugene, and so many other amazing places.
I actually didn’t realize how much DanceAbility has had an impact on my life until late last year. A couple months ago I was doing an interview with a journalist major from the University of Oregon, who’s also a friend of mine, and it wasn’t until he asked the question "how has DanceAbility helped you grow as either a dancer or a person?". I realized that it wasn’t until I started working with DA that I started to find self-acceptance. Being the only disabled dancer at both of my studios, I was conscious about how I moved and to be honest I still am sometimes. DanceAbility does not make you feel different if you have a movement disorder. We turn it into a common ground and we make it art. We see the abilities of disabilities and for me, I had always believed that too, but I still compared myself to my friends and the older dancers...as does every other dancer. DanceAbility has helped me not be so conscious about my disability.
In the next month or two, I will be having guest writers take over Life With CP for my first series of posts called, My DanceAbility Journey. They will be sharing their stories of how DanceAbility has impacted their lives. Guys, I am so excited for this! By sharing our stories with all of you, we will also be promoting our upcoming Teacher Intensive that will be taught by Jana Meszaros right here in Eugene! Go check it out: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1QvCPu18JvIF5XATR_zENFXp109pKayxvnO2Z9LW2Ajg/viewform?edit_requested=true
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