Kaitlyn’s Story

Music speaks to each of us from a source deep within our hearts and moving to music is the first instinct that a newborn responds to with their bodies. What happens when there is a broken connection from the brain to the legs, the arms, the hands, the eyes, the ears or even the voice? Movement still happens in the mind’s eye and that movement is called “dancing”. 

Kaitlyn was born a very healthy, inquisitive baby, but at the age of six a disease called polymyositis attacked her body and slowly her muscles became stiff and useless. She could no longer breathe on her own, received food through a feeding tube. At eight she could only whisper, move her eyes and one finger which she used to move her electric wheelchair. Inside of her was an intelligent, funny, full of dreams nine-year-old, who wanted what other little girls wanted…to run, to sing, to dance, to be.

Kaitlyn was introduced to me at a performance my students were doing for a group of Senior Citizen’s at an assisted living facility. She was accompanied by her teacher and parents. She sat in her slanted wheelchair, breathing through her ventilator. She had a little whisper of a voice, expressive huge brown eyes, and a beautiful smile. Her attention was riveted on the dancers in front of her, but unlike most children she wasn’t moving in time to the music. After the show, she whispered to me that she loved the music, and she loved dancing…and so began a beautiful journey of discovery for me as a ballet teacher and Kaitlyn as a ballet student.

Kaitlyn was an honor student at Tyrone Elementary and Mrs. Kim Penman was her teacher. Kaitlyn began dance classes at the Academy in our Summer Intensive. Her schoolteacher’s children Ashley and Tommy were students of mine and Kaitlyn joined their class. 

ABA’s Summer Intensive’s have a cultural or ethnic theme. That summer, the theme was First American Culture, and the arts and crafts, choreography and history lessons were integrated with the Legend of the Blue Bonnet. The students in the Intensive learned to read Kaitlyn’s lips because she was losing her voice. They helped her paint the sets with a paintbrush held in her mouth…they laughed…they shared a magical two weeks, and they all became friends. Over the next four years they had American Girl tea parties together, they had sleepovers, they auditioned for Nutcracker together, they rehearsed and performed together. Kaitlyn was fully integrated into ballet class and my imagination and creativity grew exponentially. If I forgot to alter the ballet combination for her, she would remind me with a grin, “What about me?” When she performed in Nutcracker, a PCCA tech student a wooden frame for her wheelchair that made it look like an old-fashioned sleigh. 

Kaitlyn passed away four months before her 11th birthday, but her legacy to ABA, her teachers, her friends, and all those who encountered her was life changing. ABA’s commitment to including all disabilities and abilities in the curriculum is deeply entrenched in how artistic moments add to the health of every individual.

Marla's Story

Marla, is an example of the Academy's integration of special needs students into our curriculum and performances. Marla has Cerebral Palsy and was unable to put her heels down due to severe spasticity in her calf and Achilles tendons. She later had Achilles tendon lengthening surgery. The self-reliance taught as a part of the Academy's curriculum helped Marla take class in a very self-determined way and she continued to increase her coordination and self-confidence.

Emerson's Story

Emerson, is on the autistic spectrum and has Asperger's syndrome. She began classes as a seven-year-old. The self-discipline, structure, music and artistic challenges of dance helped Emerson to learn to control her "melt-downs" by herself. She developed real friendships among her classmates, learned to communicate her feelings and set artistic goals. She advanced to pointe class and performed in Nutcracker from the age of 8 until she turned 18. She has been accepted to the Savannah School of Art as a voice-over and a costume design major.

Arianna’s Story

Arianna's story is told in this photo collage from a PowerPoint Presentation.