Boston cable access features wheelchair dancing

From the Boston Herald:

It was crunch time at the Billerica Cable Access Television studio earlier this month.

The “Dances With Wheels” participants were putting in their final practice before their biggest gig to date, the Massachusetts Association for Retarded Citizens’ annual banquet.

The event marked a milestone: The group was paid for its performance.

“Even though we are in wheelchairs we can dance. Even though we have different ways of dancing we can do it,” said dance troupe member Allison Hill, 28.

Hill proved her point, swirling about the dance floor with verve and energy in a flowing gown, her face aglow with the joy of movement.

Dancing With Wheels began in 2006. Luis Salas (pictured), a former staff member at Toward Independent Living and Learning Inc., saw an opportunity to apply the popularity of TV’s “Dancing With the Stars” to those he worked with through the central Massachusetts office.

“When that show came out it was such a big hit. The reaction we got from those involved was tremendous,” said Salas, 29.

“Everyone can share the same sentiment, even if they don’t express it in the same way,” said Salas. “The ideology was the most important - showing to anyone who can see this, don’t judge a book by its cover.”

Salas and Doug Townsend of TILL Inc. partner with Hill and her roommates from the TILL home in Chelmsford, Heather March, 26, and Lisa Roy (pictured), 31. Dennis Fryar, 24, of Waltham is also part of the group. Fryar and the three women are wheelchair-bound due to symptoms of cerebral palsy.

At practice, the smile on March’s face says it all.

The normally shy young woman lights up as Salas leads her across the floor in sweeping, circular motions. March makes eye contact with her audience and with Salas as she glides to the music with the fluidity and ease of an ice skater.

“It makes me happy,” said March. “I feel like I’m blowing in the wind.”

The Dances With Wheels troupe performs or practices two times a week. Dancers frequently entertain at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Bedford, New England Pediatric Care in Billerica and Sunny Acres nursing home in Chelmsford.

“These people might not be handicapped but they see us not being scared to try different things,” Hill said.

Roy is the group’s soloist. She choreographed her own dance by moving her motorized wheelchair to the music.

“Lisa is probably the best wheelchair dancer we have,” said Townsend.

Roy plays with speed and tempo as she loops around the stage with a broad smile.

“You can see her shift during note changes,” said Townsend.

Townsend said there is more at stake with Dances With Wheels than just having a good time.

“We don’t just spin around on wheels,” he said. “We send a message.”

After a performance at a nursing home, the group invited residents to join them on the dance floor. One woman in her 90s danced with Townsend. She was suffering from multiple sclerosis and leukemia.

Their performance was the first time she had moved in years, family members told Townsend. She died three days later; now Hill and Townsend incorporate a dance in her honor into their routine.

“Nursing homes really give us our purpose in life,” said Hill.

Last spring the group held a fund-raiser at Billerica High School and helped raise $2,800 for a student with developmental disabilities.

With their personal and professional successes, Dances With Wheels hopes to draw the attention of “Dancing With the Stars.” Until then, TILL Inc. plans to incorporate dancing into other residential and day programs.