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From
The Salt Lake Tribune:
A dozen or so parents recently sat outside a dance class at The Dance Club studio in Orem, watching their children practice ballet and jazz moves through one-sided glass.
This isn't an ordinary dance class, and these parents knew it.
It's for people with special needs, an umbrella term which includes physical, mental and emotional disabilities. When asked about the class, each parent raves about the positive impact it has had on their children and the program's unique aspects.
"We travel 50 miles to get here," said Cassie Kelley, mother of Tonisha, a Mona fifth-grader with cerebral palsy. "They don't do this hardly anywhere."
Kelley said her daughter is upset if she has to miss the free, weekly class.
Tonisha "loves it so much," Kelley said. "She talks about it at school. All her teachers know she's planning on going to dance class this weekend. She loves the teachers. She loves the kids."
Joy Patten, mother of Madison, (pictured) a third-grader at Orem's Foothill Elementary School who has Down Syndrome, said her daughter goes to bed early Friday nights in anticipation of the Saturday morning class.
"Her brother loves soccer," Patten said. "Dancing is [Madison's] thing."
The class is led by Heidi Stoddard, a full-time dance instructor who taught a special-needs dance class in Lehi during her reign as Miss Lehi. When asked to teach a similar class at The Dance Club, she jumped at the chance.
Growing up with a brother with cerebral palsy has created a soft spot in Stoddard's heart for people with special needs.
The class, Stoddard said, is for people with all types of disabilities.
Last week's class was the last session until mid-August.
Children with Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism and other disorders come together in the class to stretch their muscles, practice dance moves, play games, and learn how to clap to rhythm.
"This is one of my favorite classes [to teach] just because they're so grateful," Stoddard said. "Their parents are so grateful that they have this opportunity, and the kids are so sweet and always have so much fun."
The hour-long class caters to all ages, though almost all participants are children.
Without the class, these children wouldn't have the opportunity to participate in dance, Patten said.
The class is enriching for the dancers and their families.
"It's great for us as parents," said Provo's Pauline McCosh, Michel McCosh's grandmother. "We sit, we talk, we share. We learn about other programs."
While regular children are able to participate in sports and other activities, kids with special needs are often left on the sidelines. The class has given them a way to be part of something, McCosh said.
Stoddard was touched by something Tonisha told her the first day of class.
"She said 'I've wanted to dance my whole life, and I never thought I could,'" Stoddard said. "They get the opportunity to do something they never thought they could. That just makes my day."
From The Salt Lake Tribune:
