The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Wind Dancers express joy with dance
Wind Dancers: Interpretive dance group gives members of Arc of Madison Cortland creative outlet
“I have somuch fun being with my friends. That’s what I like best.”
— Brandy Bedell, Wind Dancers member
ONEIDA >> The interpretive dance routines performed by Wind Dancers give its members — all young women who are participants in programs offered by The Arc of Madison Cortland — the chance to learn valuable people skills, develop friendships, and experience the satisfaction of performing before appreciative audiences.
Those audiences come away feeling pretty inspired by their example, as well.
The lineup of Wind Dancers currently includes Brandy Bedell, Jessica Bero, Shelly Carolla, Janet Catterson, Erin Conley, Kathleen Coughlin, Samantha Dixon, Elizabeth Eberst, Aeryn Mitchell, Patti Saville and Tracy Schmidtka. Judging by the constant smiles seen on-stage during their performances, each of these dancers loves what she is doing and who she is dancing with.
“I have so much fun being with my friends,” Bedell said. “That’s what I like best.”
Wind Dancers were one of the featured acts at The Arc’s annual Holiday Concert, held this year on Dec. 11 at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Oneida, where they danced to “Run Run Rudolph” and “Silent Night.”
They also joined fellow performers from the SunShine Choir, the Mighty Fortress, and Tone Chime Choir to sing in a spirited finale of “America/Star Spangled Banner “and “Candle in the Window,” which had the audience join along holding candles.
The women also recently danced at the dedication of the Alternatives Industry building on Broad Street in Oneida to former Arc executive director Ray Lewandowski.
They have appeared several times at Heritage Farm in Eaton, at Cazenovia College, and even had a display at the National Dancers’ Hall of Fame in Saratoga a couple of years ago.
The group is led by choreographers Michelle Collins, who has been with them since the beginning of Wind Dancers back in 1998, and Tammy Keck, who has only worked with Wind Dancers for six weeks. Both are direct support professionals with The Arc.
Collins recalled the initial idea came from thenArc family support coordinator and St. Paul’s United Methodist Church member Paulette Pierce, who wanted to create a women’s dance workshop blending both developmentally challenged and typically-developing members.
Her idea was to welcome participants from The Arc’s teen recreation group and the Sunday School youth of St. Paul’s, although as Wind Dancers became a fullfledged, performing dance troupe they now only have Arc participants.
The members of Wind Dancers truly enjoy being able to go out and perform, Collins said, and she enjoys seeing them sharing what they‘ve learned with others.
“I just love watching them share their talents and their love of music,” she said.
“I like doing all the moves to the songs, and the costumes we get to wear,” Carolla added.
They meet every Monday at the church — where Collins is also a member — to rehearse and enjoy each other’s company. Even as they memorize their dance steps in preparation of performing them before their audiences, the women are also developing long-lasting friendships through the group.
“The dancers are like my sisters,” Bero said. “I would like to thank Michelle and Tammy for helping the Wind Dancers with the songs. To the Wind Dancers, I love my friends like Aeryn, Tracy, Shelly, Brandy, and every girl in the dance.”
The women don’t always need to dance together -Mitchell will soon be dancing on her own, performing at her Abundant Love Fellowship Church in Durhamville on Dec. 23. Her mom Diane Mitchell said she is grateful for the opportunities Wind Dancers have offered her daughter.
“This gives her the chance to learn to function in a group, and it’s good for her to memorize the dances,” she explained. “But it also gives her the camaraderie of being with other people like herself, and a great fellowship with the other girls.”
Keck said The Arc’s Holiday Concert was her first with Wind Dancers, and the performances got her right into the spirit of the season.
“The best part of Christmas is this concert,” she explained. “You could see the joy on all of their faces. I just love spending time with everyone in Wind Dancers.”
To watch Wind Dancers perform to “Silent Night” as recorded by Faith Hill, visit: http://youtu.be/p1Q2kz_ d6fY
To see more photos of the Wind Dancers and others performing at the holiday concert, visit: http:// bit.ly/1yNH2Qk. To read more Your Neighbor stories, visit: www.OneidaDispatch.com/ topic/yn