Musical Theater

I have a student who is legally blind. She wears really thick glasses and can see, but not well. As you can imagine, she's not the most graceful dancer and is kind of awkward in general. But, she's a good kid and never lets her handicap get in the way. I don't think the other girls in her class know that she's legally blind.

The week after April vacation, she came into class and told me that she choreographed a dance over the break. She wanted to show the class. I feel so horrible for saying this, but it was awful! I didn't recognize a single dance step. I don't know what she was doing besides twirling around with her eyes closed. And the song was about six minutes long! But, I applauded her for her efforts and thanked her for sharing.

This past Tuesday, she brought in another CD. She made up another dance. This one wasn't as bad. It wasn't good, but I at least recognized a few of the attempted movements. I think it's safe to say this kid is never turning pro, but at least she loves dance, right?

Yesterday, I saw this kid in a new light. I took my class into the other studio to watch a little bit of the musical theater class production. Part of their show features songs from Annie. This kid can sing. I completely enjoyed her performance and wanted to see more. I was impressed. I could also tell from my students' reactions that they were surprised as well. Lesson learned by all.