My beautiful summer experience

Sometime last spring, Ken Reedy, an old high school friend reached out to me to ask if I might be interested in volunteering and doing an arts program for his clients. He works for YAI, an organization that offers children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities a comprehensive range of services. He’s the Supervisor of Curriculum and Workforce Development and works with adults.

When Ken reached out, he was on a mission: to provide more high-quality experiences in the arts; anything that would be creative and expressive. After thinking about what I could bring, I figured a dance experience would be best; his clients don’t often get opportunities for guided movement and what better way to get people moving? We set up our first meeting. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was excited to see what we could do together.

When I arrived, Ken took me on a tour of the place. I was amazed to see a fully developed art studio, a film/video studio with a green screen and a large community space where we were going to have the dance class. I learned that he’s brought workshops in photography and film, entrepreneurship, and several of the clients started their own jewelry businesses!

Our first class had about ten people. I treated this class like I would any other: warmup, learning basic skills, and creating combinations to practice. I had created a playlist based on what I know are crowd pleasers and a little inside scoop into what they liked to listen to. We started the class with some slow, mellow African drumming and explored how our bodies move in every direction. They, like my students in the high school, had rapt attention. When music plays and they are given a direction, it’s like their souls light up.

For the first two sessions, I thought it would be fun to start with some basic salsa steps; who doesn’t like salsa? What a joy. We created a fun combination and even played with a little partnering! After each round we’d clap and cheer, smiles all around. I knew that I’d be coming back.

For the third class, I decided to mix things up a bit. Ken has a vision that someday, maybe they could somehow perform. So, in anticipation of the possibility of a future performance, I played “This is Me” from The Greatest Showman. Their faces lit up and I knew this was going to be something great. I started to choreograph, taking things slowly and repeating them many times. After all, I have a terrible memory, and my dancers are usually the ones who have to remind me of what I choreographed. This class was no exception. Anthony and Lavette were particularly great in helping me to remember what we did the week before.

Each session, we’d add a little bit more until the fifth week, when we had an entire three-minute dance, complete with entrances and exits. What a joy it was to see their reflection in the window, emoting, using their whole bodies to reflect the feeling of the song.

The last session was both bittersweet and enlightening. Several of the students had had trouble standing for long periods of time, so we established a practice where they would do everything in a chair. That way, they could still dance, using their arms and legs as much as they could, and be a part of the class. Sometimes they’d leave early, having exhausted themselves from working so hard. For the last class we did an extended warm up where we were all sitting in chairs. For 30 minutes, we moved in every angle, every direction, using our entire bodies, without the stress of standing up. We choreographed a little warm up dance that we did to Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger.” There were huge smiles and comments that they felt their bodies working and how good it felt.

We talked about timing, direction, communication, and how choreography is simply about putting movements that you like together and remembering what you did. He was so proud when everyone did his dance and then we combined it with the chair combination from the warm up. It was a lovely collaboration and I love seeing how excited he was for taking on a leadership role..

Lavette and Luz, the budding entrepreneurs, gave me bracelets they had made. Jackie hand-wrote a card for me that she was very proud of. I was overwhelmed by how much they were going to miss our dance classes together. There were so many hugs and selfies; it was really hard to leave, knowing my summer fun was ending soon.

Visit Luz's IG beaut.ifullights to see some of her work! She also has an Etsy page!

While this summer experience has come to an end, I know it will not be my last time working with the people at YAI. They are beautiful, good souls who thrive on being given creative tasks. They have so much to offer and deserve to be seen. I am grateful to Ken Reedy for reaching out and encouraging me share my abilities with them.

If you’re inspired by this story, visit the YAI website and see how you can volunteer your time, talent, or donate to the organization. Every effort helps.