Power of Prayer

UGH! I've rewritten this probably four or five times now because I've hated each one. I was recently sick for a number of weeks, I had been misdiagnosed and then mistreated. What else is new with me? Being mistreated happens a little too often in my life. I'm talking like medically- not like bullied, just to clarify. I got the correct diagnosis, pneumonia, and I just...well, my first thought was something along the lines of "great, just what I need." followed by fear. You see, I had pneumonia when I was two years old and I spent two weeks watching literally nothing but Blues Clues in a hospital bed. After a few minutes of processing that I could very well end up in the hospital again, I just started texting, snapping, messaging a bunch of people and asked for prayers.

About four days later I was still very sick and I was honestly tired of people telling me to get well and to feel better soon. Maybe I shouldn't admit that because I know it was meant well but for me...I was five days into my antibiotics, I was resting as much as I could without going insane, and I was actually getting worse. I messaged my best friend and said, "I’m gonna say this once and then never again because I know they all have the best intentions. Everyone keeps telling me to get well soon and I’m just like I’m trying but it ain’t working!!! 😭". She understood and said that she had been praying for my health but also that I would use it to praise God. Interestingly enough, I had been thinking about writing something somewhere about the power of prayer. I went back to urgent care and got a stronger antibiotic that made me feel much better after the first dose. 

I am a strong believer in the power of prayer. In fact, I believe that I literally wouldn't be where I am today if prayer was not powerful. I've seen some incredible stuff happen because people prayed. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 says, "Always be joyful. Never stop praying.". Easier said than done because it's our humanely nature to do things on our own power. The truth is we can't. At some point we need help. I said that I wouldn't be where I am if prayer wasn't powerful and that's because I survived a traumatic birth that left me without oxygen and blue. Doctors did not expect me to walk or talk. I can walk, run in my walker, I can talk...I can do so many things now. I'm an Animal Science major at LCC, I plan on pursuing my Bachelor's in Equine Therapy (a mixed study of the sciences of both horses and humans) and I don't know if you know this but that's not an easy major. I can stand up from floor. Heck, I'm working on walking long-distances independently. How did I get here? Hard work, never giving up, but most importantly it's because I have an incredible team of people around me who pray for me. Ever hear how I was healed from seizures? Prayer. Actually, that one was a pure act of God, I didn't do anything but trust and pray.

It also takes faith, you can't expect a prayer to be answered without having faith. I think prayer is the most powerful thing...next to the Holy Trinity. Besides, how incredible it is that we can talk to our Creator?! Prayers are answered on God's timing and not ours. Some aren't answered, though. I can't say why because I don't know. All I know is that God has a reason for not answering those prayers. I know that probably sounds crazy but He does love you and He wants the very best for you.

Dear God, I pray that You'll use this post to drawn hearts to You. Thank You for the power of prayer and that we can talk to You through prayer. In Your Name I pray, amen.

The Good Days, also hi, I'm back blogging :)

Do you ever look at a picture and want to go back to that day? Because life was good.

There's a picture that my dad took of me about a month after I turned eighteen, I was standing in front of a gate that leads into a pasture at my grandparents' farm...I was wearing my #hugdealer sweater and skinny jeans. My hair was in a bun- typical Kelcie in twenty-sixteen. One of the reasons why I love that picture is because I have a clear memory of taking pictures of my grandfather that day, along with other family members. This was exactly three years ago to the day but a few months after that my life changed and not necessary in a good way.

Grief changes lives and makes you wish you could go back to "when life was good". Unfortunately, you can't. However, you can hold onto those memories and allow them to push you forward. Brad Paisley said in his song Today, "I don't know about tomorrow but right now the whole world feels right and a memory of a day like today can get you through the rest of your life". Grief is easily described to be like waves, some days it's low tide and you can carry on life with little to no problem but other days it's like a tidal wave. 

It's funny I'm writing about this single picture when I received an email from someone who doesn't believe the saying, "a picture's worth a million words". I wholeheartedly believe it because without pictures I think our memories would fade faster. I think we'd also forget what people who have passed on looked like.

So, going back to the picture of twenty-sixteen, senior in high school me- I saw that and remembered when my life was good. I was about two months from graduating, I still had both of my grandparents around, my siblings all lived at home, we did a lot as a family (not to say we don't anymore but it takes a bit more planning), and I was months away from my official seizure free date. Tonight was small wave, a wave that makes me kinda sad but also extremely grateful for those memories. I'm looking forward to making more everyday. 

As Brad Paisley ends his song- he says this, "bring on tomorrow, I've got today. Bring on tomorrow, right now the world is right. Bring on tomorrow, because the memory of a day like today can get you through the rest of your life.".

Mini life update (because I haven't posted a blog since last June): my trip to Rome fell through and I'm now a student at Lane. Sco Titans! I've also been working on a huge collaboration with DanceAbility, the Oregon Bach Festival, and the University of Oregon's Dance Department. It's gonna be a super lit show at the Hult Center on July 5th at 7:30! 

June: A Dancing Dreamer

Hey everyone! What's up? I realized that I hadn't posted in awhile and I figured I should before I get really busy. You see June is a weird month for me, I go from my dance recital and people calling me Kelcie to people calling me Dreamer at Camp Harlow literally within 24 hours.

I just did my last day of dance classes on Tuesday and I am wrapping up my sixteenth year of dance. It has been a weird year for me. Let me tell you how many classes I had last year- I was taking three classes and assisting one, it equaled out to about ten (I think) hours a week and 4 days a week. I LOVED IT! BUT unfortunately, my body did not. I had someone tell me to "not let anything get in my way" around this time last year as encouragement because I was starting to think, "maybe I can't do two more weeks, maybe my body can't handle two more weeks". The thing was that I was getting in my own way, unintentionally. There wasn't really a way around my physical self being in a ton of pain. So during the last couple months I had to make a decision about the coming fall and if I was even going to be at the studio this year. Man, was it a hard decision. I decided to quit ballet 4 because it was the most difficult and time consuming class I had. That class was the core of my studio family, I didn't actually want to leave but I knew I had to.


This year I only took two classes at the studio and I didn't assist any classes (which was sad and I missed my student). It was very good for me, though. A lot less pain, got answers to the problem, and am in the process of trying a way to treat it. "You only danced for two hours a week?!" HAHA, oh no. I actually ended up dancing for six to seven hours a week to start the year and ended the year with dancing for eight to nine hours a week. Not counting shows. I blame it on the dancer in me ;) As for next year at my studio, well, God only knows what's in store for then. I still have two months and a month in Rome to figure it out.

This post was supposed to be more about Harlow but as you can see that didn't exactly happen. So I guess you'll be seeing another post soonish.

Tpong Folr Me

I'm a very specific person when it comes to writing and typing, which is funny because I used to be horrible at spelling. Tonight I'm going to show you what it looks like for me to type on my laptop, without editing anything- it's gonna drive me INSANE.

Hello my named is Kelcied, this is me showing what's it's l.ike io tgepe wikth Cerebral Palsy. As you can see it's a littl.e hard but thack goodness there's a backpece buttom oon every divece.

Now, some of that^ was just my brain jumping the gun on words- which happens a lot for me. But you get my point, and like I said, "it's a little hard but thank goodness there's a backspace button on every device". Also, it is driving me insane. All the misspelled words are like, "Fix me! Fix me! Fix me!" and all of the red lines under them aren't helping my insanity. So there y'all go, Kelcie's unedited blurb. Short, sweet, and all natural. ;)

A Question For You

Hello world! I'm going to work on writing more than I have been lately, but I'm curious if there's anything about disabilities that you, my followers and readers, would like to hear more about or if you guys have any questions? I can't promise that I'll know enough for a blog post but I will definitely do my best. You can comment those ideas on blogger or Facebook, or if we're Facebook friends you can message me. Looking forward to hearing what your thoughts are!

DanceAbility Stories: Part 5

Hello friends! We are back this weekend after an unintentional break last week, of which I apologize for, Jana and I were in Lane Community College’s “Collaborations" last weekend. But we are so happy to have you all click the link and join us today! I got the pleasure of interviewing Bakul Willard, a member of the professional company. Read what he said below!

Q: How did you find DanceAbility?
A: My mom knew about DanceAbility for a long time. She waited until I was older to tell me about DanceAbility. Then I saw them dancing at the lane county fair. I talked to Jana after the performance. She already knew about me as a dancer because she had seen me at A3.

Q: When did you start dancing with DanceAbility?
A: They offered me a scholarship for the training that Alito offered [in August of 2016].

Q: What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned from working with Alito and DanceAbility?
A: The biggest thing [I’ve learned] is that everybody can dance in their own unique way. And we can all dance together.

Q: How has DanceAbility changed your life either as a person or a dancer?
A: DanceAbility has changed my life as a dancer. I have become a better performer because of the focus on other dancers and communicating with the audience.

 Q: When you did the training did anything stand out more than everything else?
A: When I did the training I was younger than everyone. I had been an assistant dance teacher. They were all experienced dance teachers but they fully accepted me as a member of the team.

In a side comment Bakul said, “I have enjoyed everyone I have met and worked with through DanceAbility.”.

Get involved with DanceAbility this year! First, we have a 5-day Intensive taught by Jana Meszaros, right here in Eugene, Oregon. This is a great chance for you to get a great idea of the DanceAbility Method, this training is open to high school students as well as adults! This Intensive is almost full, so sign up today! Second, want even more knowledge of this Method? We have a month long certification to become a certified teacher of the DanceAbility Method in Vienna, Austria! You can find more information about the upcoming trainings at the links below.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1QvCPu18JvIF5XATR_zENFXp109pKayxvnO2Z9LW2Ajg/viewform?edit_requested=true
https://www.impulstanz.com/en/danceability-teacher-certification/2018/

DanceAbility Stories: Part 4

Happy Friday everyone! We are so glad to have you with us for part four of DanceAbility Stories! Writing this week’s story is Veronica “RockStar” DeWitt! 

Veronica+DanceAbility

   Sensation.  Relationship.  Time.  Design.  Those words mean a lot more to me now than before I started practicing the DanceAbility method in 2015.
   I have been a professional contemporary dancer since 2007, and have danced so many pieces by some incredible choreographers.  I have flipped, dipped, launched, and landed across studios and stages around the world with other high-end dancers.  Over time, I became a movement/dance technique teacher.
   All that being said, I never thought I would be so blown away by the dancing I witness and experience in a DanceAbility class, workshop, training, and/or performance.  I really had no idea how going to the DanceAbility Teacher Training with Jana Meszaros in Austin, Tx (2015) would make such a lasting impact on my life; I was just going to another dance training, right?
Wrong.
   Since teacher training, I view dance AND people with a more open, generous perspective, especially in terms of accessibility, inclusivity, and how I relate (which really comes back to how I relate to and feel about myself).
   In addition to my own personal growth, many awesome opportunities have popped up. Even though I moved to Austin, I still seasonally perform with Joint Forces Dance Company.  I attended Master Training this year in Trier, Germany with Alito Alessi (which was challenging, humbling, and amazing).  In Austin, I’m teaching DanceAbility classes in the AISD (public school district) and also for Body Shift (a community initiative).  The last thing in the works that I’ll mention is I’m directing/performing a quintet for Austin Dance Festival 2018, featuring 3 other DanceAbility teachers who live in Austin and one dedicated student/community member; the cast is very diverse and I’m excited to show what we do in a professional theater setting.
   I am glad I listened to Alito back there in the sauna at Breitenbush, and that he encouraged Jana and I to do the teacher training.  That moment was definitely a Y in the road.  Good choice making ladies!
   I am grateful to be a part of the DanceAbility community and share this work with others long into the future.  Liberate yourself, and you liberate others.

Get involved with DanceAbility this year! First, we have a 5-day Intensive taught by Jana Meszaros, right here in Eugene, Oregon. This is a great chance for you to get a great idea of the DanceAbility Method, this training is open to high school students as well as adults! Second, want even more knowledge of this Method? We have a month long certification to become a certified teacher of the DanceAbility Method in Vienna, Austria! You can find more information about the upcoming trainings at the links below.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1QvCPu18JvIF5XATR_zENFXp109pKayxvnO2Z9LW2Ajg/viewform?edit_requested=true

https://www.impulstanz.com/en/danceability-teacher-certification/2018/

DanceAbility Stories: Part 3

Hello everyone! We are so glad you decided to join us for part three of DanceAbility Stories- this week’s guest writer is Jim Ballard! 

[When I first found DanceAbility] it was 2007 or 2008. I was just discovering the world of dance. I was at Lane Community College and went to one of their dance shows. I had no idea that DanceAbility was performing that night. Alito and Emery where performing the ‘’Tango’’. Now I had grown up in a medical family with my mom being a nurse. The way she taught me to treat people with disabilities was in good spirit but ultimately wrong. So when I saw Emery in his chair and Alito swinging him around I had a bit of worry and concern. Within just a few minutes of watching my whole perspective flipped. I was profoundly inspired.

I was always told that dancers don’t have a “long shelf life.” “A dancers career is over by the time they are thirty, if they are lucky.” “That you have to have a certain body type to be a dancer.”  DanceAbility gave me hope. It showed me that I was wrong, that “they” were wrong. Limitations can be pushed onto us, can be something we are born into or something we blindly accept. From just working with DanceAbility I have found my voice. I have been able to create beyond my limitations and I have been able to give hope to fellow dancers that felt they are “too old” or that their

injury prevents them from continuing a career in dance. 

When people ask me for a definition of DanceAbility, I generally refer them to the website but that if I had to sum it up in one sentence it would be “If you are alive you CAN dance.”.

Get involved with DanceAbility this year! First, we have a 5-day Intensive taught by Jana Meszaros, right here in Eugene, Oregon. This is a great chance for you to get a great idea of the DanceAbility Method, this training is open to high school students as well as adults! Second, want even more knowledge of this Method? We have a month long certification to become a certified teacher of the DanceAbility Method in Vienna, Austria! You can find more information about the upcoming trainings at the links below.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1QvCPu18JvIF5XATR_zENFXp109pKayxvnO2Z9LW2Ajg/viewform?edit_requested=true

https://www.impulstanz.com/en/danceability-teacher-certification/2018/

DanceAbility Stories: Part 2

Good evening everyone! Hope your week was good. We are back for part two of DanceAbility Stories! This week's story is written by Karen Daly, sharing how she has been impacted by DanceAbility.


My first encounter with DanceAbility was in the winter of 1994 when I was 43 years old (I’m much younger now that I’m a dancer ;) I’m a right leg amputee and was making my way on crutches at the time. The workshop was in the old Agate Hall in Eugene, filled to capacity with all sorts of people - a lively mix of bodies with and without disabilities, all ages, sizes and persuasions - coming together to get to know their unique bodies through movement in-and-out of contact with others. If I told you I wasn’t a tad nervous, self-conscious and self-doubting that day (who me, with one leg, a dancer?), I would be lying. However, soon after we began the warm-up, I settled into a gentle awareness of how lovely it felt to lie on the floor, roll around and feel my body moving through space. The structures (scores in dance-speak) Alito led us through brought out a playfulness in me that continues to deepen and spill over into my day to day activities.
That was the first of many workshops I’ve been a part of, in many different DanceAbility communities nationally and in other parts of the world. I’ve learned to love and find joy in my unique body. My relationships with others have been enhanced because I’m more present with my whole self. The part of me that wants to criticize and point out my imperfections is quieter, and is able to see how amazingly strong and beautiful my body is when I make time for dancing.
DanceAbility introduced me to a new way of living in and with my body. Today I can honestly say:
*I love my body moving*

Karen recently wrote and published a biography on her life- it can be purchased at the first link below. Get involved with DanceAbility this year! First, we have a 5-day Intensive taught by Jana Meszaros, right here in Eugene, Oregon. This is a great chance for you to get a great idea of the DanceAbility Method, this training is open to high school students as well as adults! Second, want even more knowledge of this Method? We have a month long certification to become a certified teacher of the DanceAbility Method in Vienna, Austria! You can find more information about the upcoming trainings at the links belows:

https://www.amazon.com/Joy-Ride-One-Legged-Journey-Acceptancce/dp/1977815448/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1517895371&sr=8-1&keywords=joy+ride+karen+witt+daly
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1QvCPu18JvIF5XATR_zENFXp109pKayxvnO2Z9LW2Ajg/viewform?edit_requested=true
https://www.impulstanz.com/en/danceability-teacher-certification/2018/

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

Christmas Traditions

You may have heard a thing called Christmas traditions, many families have something that they do every year for Christmas or the holiday season. This is going to be a bit of a sad post tonight so snuggle into bed with a box of tissues and remember those traditions that you might have had growing up.

Now I’m not sure when this tradition of mine started but when I was a kid I got my grandpa a coffee mug. It was nothing special and I probably got it at Dollar Tree but it was a nice mug. My grandpa liked it, as he would like anything his grandchildren got him and he told me that he could always use a new mug because they’d break. So the next year I got him another mug and he liked that one too. It became our tradition for at least five years that I would get him mugs. I’m not positive if I kept our tradition going until he passed away but I think I did.  I remember I think it was the last mug I got him, it was painted with a Santa Clause sitting in a chair. I also remember visiting him awhile after Christmas and he started digging around his table next to his recliner looking for something, he pulls out the mug and said that he kept it over there so it wouldn’t get broken.

Last year was the first year in I don’t know how long that I didn’t get him a mug. I remember walking around all the mugs in stores and thinking, "oh, I haven’t gotten grandpa’s mug yet." And then remembering that I couldn’t get him one. I think that was the hardest part of the holidays for me. Even today I stood in front of the Christmas mugs at Dollar Tree and thought of him. Both this year and last year I thought maybe I’ll get a mug and just keep it in honor of him, but it was too soon last year I couldn’t bring myself to do it. But maybe this year.

For you it may not be a mug but there’s something that you always did and now you don’t. Whatever that is, hold the memories close to your heart this Christmas. I believe that even when people pass they still live in your heart.

Christmas traditions may fade away but the memories never do. Merry Christmas!