A different kind of dance: How the arts can be for everyone
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
Philadelphia students with cerebral palsy work alongside Drexel dance majors to be part of a performance.
Ryan Bonner, left, an HMS student, with Drexel dance major and partner Sara Nichols.
Mikala Jamison
Mikala Jamison
During the hour I spent with Mary Stickney, Sonya Budnovitch and Sara Nichols, all sophomore dance majors at Drexel, along with their dance partners Emily Aiello, Heath Goldberg and Ryan Bonner — Aiello, Goldberg and Bonner are all teens who attend HMS School for Children with Cerebral Palsy in University City — the HMS students communicate what they are feeling in a few different ways.
Bonner, with Nichols spinning him in his wheelchair as Vitamin String Quartet’s cover of Coldplay’s “Clocks” plays through the loudspeakers, breaks into a large grin, his eyes following the spinning world around him.
Goldberg, in a silly mood, uses a communication device attached to his chair to tell a story about a funny hat he wore that day.
And Aiello, who is able to communicate more verbally, interrupts the discussion at one point to proclaim only, “This is awesome.”
This group has come to know one another since October, when seven Drexel students and seven HMS students began meeting once per week to practice a collaborative dance they’ll perform at Drexel this Friday, May 30 for an audience of Philadelphia middle school students from Belmont Charter School and Lingelbach Elementary School. The group already performed at HMS’ volunteer appreciation evening on April 29.
Each class begins with a warm-up, during which the Drexel students push and pull the HMS students in their chairs, forming triangular or circular arrangements in the space, while instructor Rachel Federman-Morales beats a drum. It’s an exercise in routine, Federman-Morales says, which helps the HMS students feel secure and open. From the second the drumbeats began, they become more alert, almost giddy, more focused on their partners.
HMS has partnered with Drexel’s dance program in the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design since 2010, but HMS has had a dance program since 1999. Federman-Morales, a dance and movement therapist, has worked at HMS for a decade, during which time HMS has collaborated with other dance groups like Dancefusion.
“It’s the little things that make it so great,” Nichols says of the class and working with Bonner. “When we come back, [the HMS students] smile and laugh…you’re helping them.”
Federman-Morales agrees. “This is great socialization,” she says. “It’s about self-esteem and empowerment, building relationships.”
She adds, “Dance is just a great, wonderful distraction.”
Communication here happens through smiles, sounds, laughs or the smallest of gestures. The HMS students can’t dance just like the Drexel students, but the experience is more about inclusion, community and therapy.
Federman-Morales explains that for individuals with cerebral palsy, the class also helps with body awareness, relaxation, and kinesthetic, auditory and visual stimulation.
Each HMS student, the Drexel girls say, finds joy in different parts of the dance. Bonner likes to move quickly through the space in his chair; Goldberg likes to spin; Aiello likes facing and making eye contact with the audience.
“The beauty is, we’re really tapping into their strengths,” Federman-Morales says. “We’re seeing beyond their disability.”
The final performance will take place at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, May 30 in Mandell Theater at Drexel’s MacAlister Hall, 3201 Chestnut St.
