OGDEN -- After practicing every day since the beginning of school, Jessica Sargent got up on the stage, tossed her long blonde braid behind her back and started grooving to the music.
Jessica, along with her fellow classmates at the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, performed Thursday for family and friends during the fourth annual Spring Dance Review.
"I love it," Jessica said. "I like to go with the rhythm."
David Ashton said he looked forward to performing after months of rehearsing.
"I kind of went this way and that way, you know," he said. "I just feel the music."
The students, all from the blind school, were taught African dances by Weber State University adjunct professor Deja Mitchell.
"We are so lucky to have her," said teacher Kim Hadley. "She has really done so much for the kids, and they are so gifted. It's amazing how they harmonize and have perfect pitch. They gain so much through dancing and music."
During the performance, smaller children danced with hula hoops and colorful ribbons and dressed as bumblebees and ladybugs.
The older students danced to rap tunes and rock and roll.
Kevin Maxwell danced to country music as the audience clapped along with the beat. Several students even did gymnastic stunts with the help of instructors.
When the program was over, the students gathered on the stage and took a bow to a standing ovation.
The students are able to participate in the dance program through a Very Special Arts grant given through the state, Hadley said.
Some of the younger students had help from instructors during the dancing, but many of the teens danced without assistance.
On May 5, students from the deaf school will perform in conjunction with the university's production of "Romeo and Juliet."
The show starts at 6 p.m. in the Austad Auditorium in the Val A. Browning Center for the Performing Arts at Weber State University.
Comments