- We'll have preparation, and then demi plie,
demi plie, grand plie.
- When I first did ballet,
I was probably four and it was regular ballet.
I did it with my best friend.
We're all like twirling around
but we're having the times of our life.
When I was four,
my special needs kicked in.
And... I mean,
you don't really know how you're going to dance.
- My mother put me into dance
because she didn't think I was very coordinated.
I do remember that I was about four or five
and I remember being in my very first dance recital.
I never really stopped
until I had a life-threatening illness.
It's the first time
movement had ever been taken away from me.
It gave me insight, I feel,
into what others experience when they can't move.
As I was recovering,
I thought, "Oh, I'll just join some accessible dance classes
and I'll start getting some of that core strength back."
I was very surprised to find that,
at least in the Madison area,
there really weren't any accessible dance classes.
And that was one of the reasons
why later on, I decided to start one.
- It took a while for us to find wheelchair ballet.
I mean, it took like years and years.
When we found it, we were like overjoyed
and we wanted to do it like immediately.
Watch me please.
- An accessible dance class is very much like any class.
The teacher comes.
They show the step.
They help the dancer feel what it's like on their own body.
Is it ok?
- Yeah, kinda hurts.
- Kinda hurts? I don't want it to hurt.
So do it as close to that as you can do it
without having it hurt.
Every person is limited by their own body structure.
Dance really lends itself to meeting everyone
where they are at their own ability.
- And tendu.
- Is your tiara touching the ceiling?
Little more, little more. Yes!
- She's much more than a teacher to me.
She's a friend that I get to hug every week
and a person who I can laugh with and dance with.
She doesn't think it's sad that we have special needs.
She makes it an opportunity to make us stronger.
- Arms in front, even a little more.
Yes, look at that.
That flamenco attitude, yes.
Here we go.
First we had our classical ballet dance.
We had a Broadway-style dance.
This year we're learning flamenco.
? ? [flamenco music]
Ole!
Tanya came in
and choreographed a piece for Mary.
- What you want to think of with Spanish dance
is that you want to really stretch out your arms.
- It's different from the other dances that I've done.
It's really fun to like, just be sassy in the dance, I guess.
- When you have your arms down,
you want to stretch your arms away from your body.
And you tell me
if there's anything I'm saying that doesn't work for your body.
[clapping of hands]
- Ole!
- I think that's pretty good.
Now you just need to really...
- Practice.
- Wheelchair ballet, it's such a gift.
It changed my life.
Going back to the first year, the feeling,
it didn't mean that I had special needs.
It meant that I could do something amazing
and I didn't have to be ashamed of anything.
I didn't feel all lost because of my special needs.
I felt hope.
- She likes to say that she just really loves dance.
That it's in her heart and soul.
And I think it really is.
- Let's go.
[backstage murmuring]
- Ok, time to clear the stage.
- That's my favorite part of ballet is the performances.
It's terrifying but I love it with all my heart.
I'm so nervous.
- It's stunning.
I don't know what else to say to you.
You know this dance so well.
Just have fun.
? ?
- All that year that I've been working,
it all comes down to this moment.
And after it, you feel so relieved
and so happy because you've done your best.
You've done your dance and it's amazing.
- It is yours.
You own it.
? ? [flamenco music]
Even though I had special needs,
I could do something so incredible
that not a lot of people can do.
And that just made my heart really fill with joy.
And that I don't have to be
a girl known as a girl in the wheelchair.
I can be known as the girl who can dance very well.
I'm Mary the dancer.
It's part of me.
Ole!
[applause]