Dancer celebrates mentor’s milestone with solo performance

The Ill-Abilities International Dance Crew celebrated its 10th anniversary with a performance at Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal headquarters on the weekend. The crew features dancers with physical challenges and is headed by choreographer, dancer and motivational speaker Luca “Lazylegz” Patuelli.

Patuelli was born with arthrogryposis and has limited leg strength. He has inspired many with physical limitations over the years, including Pincourt resident Michel Nadeau, who has cerebral palsy.

Nadeau paid tribute to Patuelli during a motivational speech and solo dance performance at the Place Cartier Adult Education Centre in Beaconsfield last week.

“It was amazing,” Nadeau said during a telephone interview. “The presentation was a project for my English class. My teacher (Lise Demers) was very happy.”

Nadeau spoke to his condition and detailed Patuelli’s rise to breakdancing fame. The 24-yearold also gave a brief motivational speech focusing on the concept of “no limits” — a message he learned from Patuelli. Then Nadeau danced.

Nadeau has been overcoming challenges since the day he and his twin brother Matt were conceived. In the womb, they endured twinto-twin transfusion syndrome, a malfunction of the placenta which results in one twin keeping the other alive through the sharing of nutrients. Nadeau was the donor. He nourished his brother Matt for 27 weeks. The survival rate for twins with TTTS is between 10 and 15 per cent. Both boys were born with cerebral palsy, a form of spastic paralysis resulting from brain damage — in the case of the twins, a lack of oxygen — before birth. They were born with identical DNA — another rarity — and each weighed around two pounds.

Mother Claudine Lanoix wanted them to undergo hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which has shown positive results for people with cerebral palsy. The cost in North America was prohibitive, but it was affordable in Britain. Grandpa Jim Birnie played hockey with generous airline pilots and golfed with a helpful fellow who worked with an international car rental franchise. Tickets were procured and a van was waiting for them in Britain.

As a result of the therapy, Matt was able to walk. Michel remained in a wheelchair but could finally speak and move his limbs.

Lanoix is a certified hyperbaric technician and runs the Island Hyperbaric Centre in Pincourt.

Michel was 10 and attending the Mackay Centre when he first heard Patuelli speak and saw him dance.

“When I saw him dance, I jumped up,” Nadeau said. “Everybody was shocked. My teachers called my mom and said I had stood up on my own for the first time.”

Nadeau began taking dance classes from Patuelli, who is a specialist in teaching dance to people with myriad physical limitations. Patuelli helped Nadeau discover a way to get out of his chair and back into it by himself. After that, Nadeau’s confidence soared and he was able to work by himself and in class on further investigating breakdance moves.

When the dance classes and performances he’d been participating in ended a couple of years ago, Nadeau felt a bit lost. The Friday night sessions were a time to socialize and bond with other dancers.

So he joined a social group at the West Island YMCA. Nadeau said the Y offers a number of courses for people with special needs and he would like to talk to the organizers about possibly teaching dance.

“Luca taught me that you can always figure out how to do something on your own, if you have the passion,” Nadeau said.