Dance: Ability and Opportunity

After Gia was born, one of the most common questions I received as a former dancer was whether I was going to enroll her in dance.

My response concise and always the same, "Only if she wants to."

What didn't occur to me was that she may not be able to dance.

Or perhaps and more appropriately, that she may not be given the opportunity.

Don't get me wrong, there was dance.

As I navigated the unfamiliar landscape of special needs parenting, I did my best to support my child's neurodiversity in a way that felt natural and instinctual and so we danced, twirled, and toe-jumped around our home in our makeshifty studio, living room, and anywhere else we had ample room.

And while I facilitated all-age inclusive dance in our community, I learned early on that Gia needed (needs) me to be "mom". Not an occupational or physical therapist, speech language pathologist, educator ... or dance teacher. While indeed, I do wear all of those hats, I pair them with my mama bear sweater.

All that to say, I've had dance classes on my radar for Gia for quite some time. However, I never quite found the right fit.

That was until this past October when I stumbled upon an article in our local newspaper about Ascend Movement Collective. A dance studio that prioritized a love of dance nestled under an inclusive umbrella.

After a phone call with co-founder Sara Jo - a phone call that I almost didn’t make, anticipating yet another disappointment; for the first time I was confident that Gia would be able to dance with someone other than me. We sampled a class and I enrolled her immediately, thereafter. Gia has been dancing alongside both neurotypical and neurodiverse dancers. Again, this studio is inclusive, meaning not a separate or specialized program.

In all the ways my life comes full circle, this past weekend was one of those moments as we celebrated Gia's love of dance in her very first recital.

And let me just say, she danced her little heart out.

On stage.

Under bright lights.

She wore new tights with seams in the toes, an itchy sequin costume, and learned to tendu on command. There were times the music played and times it did not. Sensory and cognitive challenges that she met with a performance-ready attitude.

And much like Autism itself, the brain-based differences crept in atypically as Gia struggled in the dressing room rather than on stage.

Much of my life has been spent inside a dance studio. In fact, a dance studio is as familiar to me as home. I've never felt like an outsider.

But when you have a child that doesn't fit or show up like the norm, life starts to happen from Side Stage Left.

Other parents interact from an arms reach away. As though autism is contagious. And what lies between you are the unspoken differences of lives now and in the future.

All that to say, I've made a few friends too. There were moms that stopped and talked. We talked about dance, parenting and stuff. They cheered on mine and I cheered on theirs.

Dancing with Ascend Movement Collective, under these directors, your dancer learns about the expression of dance and how to be part of a community.

It's where opportunity meets authenticity.

Seems to me like pretty much everything you want for your dancer. And maybe you.

-Frankly Christina 💋

For more information and why Ascend Movement Collective may be the studio for your dancer, visit:
https://www.ascendmovementcollective.org/