The Jefferson-Lewis Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) in New York offered an event for about 20 hearing-impaired students there so they could learn how to dance, the Watertown (N.Y.) Daily Times reports.
The event allowed hearing-impaired kids who attend a variety of schools to come together, socialize and learn to dance.
"They're pretty isolated in different schools. This event helps with socialization because everyone can communicate with each other," said Lucy T. Hiotis, a teacher of deaf and hearing-impaired students for BOCES.
The event was inspired by deaf actress Marlee Matlin's participation in the ABC show "Dancing with the Stars."
"She's an excellent role model for deaf and hard-of-hearing people. She's proven that she can beat the odds, that deaf people can do anything," Hiotis said. "I think this proves to them that they are capable of learning something just like hearing people."
