Pennsylvania Ballet helps ‘The Nutcracker’ come alive for special needs students
LOWER MERION >> The familiar strains of Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” filled the theater Thursday at St. Katherine’s School as students danced in an adaptive version of “The Nutcracker,” which was the first to be performed by people with intellectual disabilities.
The exuberant performance of the classic holiday favorite ballet, assisted by members of the Pennsylvania Ballet, was held for an appreciate audience of alumni will be repeated Friday for family, students and friends. In between the danced scenes, students read from a storybook to explain the narrative.
Principal Lauren Bell said that students from both the Radnor and Wynnewood campuses took part. The school puts on a Christmas show every year that she described as “Broadway.”
Valerie Amiss, who retired after a career with the Pennsylvania Ballet, choreographed the school’s version of “The Nutcracker” and worked with the students.
“It’s a way for me to use my art to help others,” said Amiss. “It’s a way to get children exposed to ‘The Nutcracker.’” This version was tailored to their abilities, she said.
“It makes it fun for them and special,” she said.
“Art is really healing and helpful,” Amiss said. “It’s a way to expand their horizons and to reach for the starts. If you can dream it, you can do it.”
Amiss danced in the Pennsylvania Ballet’s “Nutcracker” for 22 years and started as a candy cane at 12. She began ballet lessons when she was 8 years old, she said. She danced the lead roles in the “Nutcracker,” including the Sugar Plum Fairy.
The ballet has “ramped up” its partnerships with community organizations, said Sarah Cooper, director of community engagement. About the performance, she said, “It was wonderful. I was crying.”
Student Rose “Muffy” Tulskie, 21, of Newtown Square, played the lead angel in the Nativity scene, said that she enjoyed taking part. “We did good,” she said.
“It was good,” agreed Leah Smith, 18, of Chester, another student. She played a candy flower. “I liked that part. I liked the music.” She had seen “The Nutcracker” before, she said. “I’m not really a dancer,” she said. “It was fun. I enjoyed it.”
Student And Kayla Ransome, 14, of Philadelphia, was a candy cane. She said being in the show made her feel happy.
“I liked the practices,” Ransome said.
Also, members of the Pennsylvania Ballet began working with St. Katherine’s students as part of their “I AM” initiative in 2017, said Cooper. Several students from St. Katherine’s upper grades in Radnor rehearsed with members of the ballet and performed a show. A documentary film was made about that endeavor.
St. Katherine serves students ages 4 and a half to 21 years old, with an I.Q. below 70, at two locations, according to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The main campus, located in Wynnewood, offers a program for students with multiple impairments, as well as a life skills program, which includes functional academics. The high school program, located in Radnor at Archbishop John Carroll High School, offers a life-skills program including functional academics and vocational training.
St. Katherine’s opened in 1953. It was the first day school for special needs students in the United States and the first of its kind in Philadelphia. It is the only archdiocesan school that provides a school program for students with multiple impairments.