In the dance recital coming up, Namine is doing quite a few dances — one with her jazz class, and one with her tap class. We’re also doing one together: the father-daughter dance. We wanted to do it together last year, but we didn’t get the chance.
Anita’s Dance Studio doesn’t advertise themselves as an accessible studio, but they’ve been really good about accommodating Namine, and incorporating the use of her wheelchair and walker appropriately in activities and recital dances.
During the practice for the father-daughter dance, though, not a thought was given to her special needs. (I assume they assume that because I, the dad, am directly involved, I can figure it out myself. If I assume correctly, they assume correctly, because I sure can.)
It’s tricky, deciding on which to use: Namine’s wheelchair or walker. If she uses her wheelchair, she can move more freely on the floor — doing turns, forward and back, all that — but she can’t do steps, because she’s sitting.
If Namine uses her walker, she can do the steps — pliés, jazz squares, and the like — but she’s fairly stationary, unable to do turns or other movements across the floor.
We decided — rather, I should say Namine decided, because ultimately I left the decision up to her — to go with the wheelchair. I agree with Namine’s call, because as we discovered, the father-daughter dance does a fair amount of back and forth movement, moving in a circle, and a daddy-powered spin at the end.
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