Ballet West Mentors Young Dancers With Severe Challenges
Jul 30, 2018, 7:03 PM | Updated: 10:47 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — For Trista Sterner, mom to triplets, Saturday mornings are hectic and stressful. The craziness is magnified by the fact that two of her triplets – Ryan and Audrey – have a 9:30 a.m. dance class.
They both have cerebral palsy and rely on wheelchairs, adding to the early morning challenges.
Ryan Sterner, a student in the Movement Mentor program.
But for Sterner and her kids, Saturdays are the best days. “To see them happy and excited and the light it brings to their faces it’s definitely a positive way to start our Saturday,” said Sterner.
Ballet West teaches a life-changing and beautifully simple dance program. Movement Mentors brings together Ballet West Academy dancers with kids with special needs.
Ballet West Adaptive Dance Director Heather Fryxell started the Movement Mentor program in Florida and now teaches at three locations in Utah.
Fryxell knows that in dance, trust and friendship is what keeps the physically challenged dancer coming back.
“They have their friend, their dance buddy there every week. So that’s the positive for the student,” said Fryxell. “The positive for the mentors is they just learn compassion, they learn patience. And that’s what I love about the program.”
Hope Rowley studies dance through the Movement Mentor program.
Anna-Marie Rowley is a Movement Mentor mom who’s been there from the beginning. She remembers the first time she saw her daughter Hope on stage.
“I cried and cried, to see her so happy. To see her self-esteem booming,” said Rowley. “You can tell in her mind she is graceful… she just looks like the most beautiful ballerina ever.”
Information on the Movement Mentor program and Ballet West classes are available at BalletWestAcademy.org.
