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Adaptive ballet
class allows girls to be stars of the stage
Hailey Southerland is all
smiles during the class.
The 10-year-old laughs
and lets out an excited little scream as teacher
Candace Looper works with the group on arm movements.
In this moment each Monday,
Hailey and others in the room become ballerinas.
The 10 girls come to class
dressed in leotards, tights and ballet slippers
and move to music for their upcoming Christmas
recital.
This is more than a ballet
class, though. It's an opportunity for these
students with disabilities to become stars on
a stage.
The program is known as
"Special Dreams Ballet," which is
an adaptive ballet and movement program that
Looper started three years ago at Southgate-Rippetoe
Elementary School in Moore.
Looper is the director
of the ballet group - whose motto is "Our
time to shine" - and teaches a multiple
disabilities class. Beth Wann, a physical therapist
at the J.D. McCarty Center for children with
developmental disabilities, also works with
the program.
Wann, who contracts with
Moore public schools to provide therapy services,
makes sure that the ballerinas and their student
helpers have the proper physical support during
rehearsals and recitals.
The girls in the program
include those who have cerebral palsy, spina
bifida, autism, deafness, blindness and genetic
disorders.
Some girls are physically
able to stand and can perform certain moves,
such as turning in a circle, while others nestle
between the knees of their helpers and work
on arm movements. Others use adaptive equipment
that helps them to sit and stand.
The ballerinas practice
once a week for 30 minutes and perform in two
recitals, one in December and another in the
spring.
Looper credits Hailey for
serving as her inspiration for the program.
She remembers reading a
book to Hailey that featured a ballerina. A
tear streamed down Hailey's face as they read
and Looper took that as a sign that her student,
who has cerebral palsy, also wanted to be a
ballerina.
Looper had read about an
adaptive ballet class in New York and decided
to give it a try at her school. Her ballet experience
comes from taking her daughter to ballet classes
for nine years.
Looper received approval
from school administrators to start the program
and also met with parents of the girls she wanted
to include.
The parents have embraced
the program, and it gives them the chance to
see their children in a different light, Looper
said. Some parents "never thought they
would see their kids in ballet outfits and dancing
or see them on stage performing."
Wann said the program also
offers the girls additional opportunities to
work on movement and using different muscles.
Plus, they are developing their social skills
by interacting with the student helpers.
Wann also notices enthusiasm
from the ballerinas. "They are bright-eyed
and smiling and loving it."
The ballerinas are also
assisted by some sixth-graders. Looper selects
the student helpers each year, and the girls
have to keep their grades up and have the physical
ability to support the ballerinas.
The sixth-graders say they
love seeing the energy and excitement from the
ballerinas.
"I just love helping
out with them," said Alexis Waggoner, 12.
"It's just all kinds of fun."
Mackenzy McInroe, 12, said
she wanted to get involved in the program "because
whenever I grow up I want to be a special education
teacher."
Looper believes the program
is an enriching experience for those involved.
For the ballerinas, it gives them the opportunity
to enhance their ability to follow directions
and pay attention. For the student helpers,
the program can motivate them to maintain good
grades so they can stay involved and show them
some of the talents and skills that children
with disabilities have, she said.
Looper's goal is to expand
the program into a districtwide after-school
program.
Her hope is that "Special
Dreams Ballet" helps to show parents, students
and teachers that "these kids are capable
of doing things if you just look outside the
box and find a way to modify it for them."
"It just brings me
a lot of joy," Looper said about the program.
"It's just something really special for
me."
And it all started with
Hailey.
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