TO THE BEST OF THEIR ABILITY

ECU dance program engages children with disabilities

The tiny, blonde ball of energy peered out from the green drapes at her mother – who watched proudly from the bleachers – until her instructor, East Carolina University professor Boni Boswell, coaxed her back to the other waiting students.

“She loves it,” Kim Breault said of her daughter’s weekly dance lessons. “She dances all around the house. She knows her moves.”

That’s a more important benchmark for Mattie than many children, as she is living with Down syndrome. But she’s not at all out of place at DanceAbility, an international program adopted by ECU four years ago to teach dance to children with cognitive or physical disabilities.

“One of the things we like to do is really provide an opportunity for each child to go beyond what might be expected of them,” said Boswell, program director from the College of Health and Human Performance’s Department of Kinesiology.

“We have two areas of goals. One is creative expression, to let them find their characteristic style. The other is we have some physical goals. We do some things that are based purely on helping them physically to develop.”

Fifteen students were enrolled in the program last fall, ranging in age from five to 12 and also ranging in ability.

Student volunteers from a variety of majors – including special education, recreation therapy and dance – help keep the program afloat. Juniors Amanda Bertram and Brianna Rinaldi led the young dancers patiently through rehearsals of “the pirate dance” and “Jingle Bells Ballet,” which were featured along with several solo performances in a Dec. 5 recital for family and friends.

“It’s great just knowing they’re having fun,” Rinaldi said. “It gives them an opportunity to be like other kids – to have a dance class.”

That feeling of belonging can be hard to come by for children with special needs, explained Blair Holloman, mother of 9-year-old Maggie.

“It feels like sometimes that these kids don’t fit anywhere,” she said. “Or they only fit for a while. “(Maggie) knows when she’s not keeping up. But somewhere like this? She’s in her peer group. And here, no one can stand well on one foot.”

Greenville dance instructor Erica Brinson assists by leading one of the three classes offered between Tuesday and Thursday each week. Brinson said she most enjoys watching the children grow their abilities and confidence through dance.