By TONY GUERRERO
Hays Post
Once the music starts, the stage won't be big enough to hold the joy at Dancing Together for Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas.
Organizers with DSNWK and Styles Dance Centre said the show is an inclusion-focused performance and fundraiser.
The event brings together Styles dancers and individuals served by DSNWK. Sarah Biggs, DSNWK director of programs and services, said the partnership brings many smiles to everyone involved.
"It's just a great mix," she said. "Interacting with them in the studio is so much fun."
The event is scheduled for 3 p.m. on March 1 at the Beach Schmidt Performing Arts Center at Fort Hays State University. Admission is by free-will donation, and raffle tickets will be sold, with all proceeds benefiting DSNWK.
Alyssa DeChant, owner of Styles Dance Centre, said she has helped coordinate the event for several years, and this year’s performance will include 50 DSNWK participants.
"Some are traveling from all over Kansas this year to participate," DeChant said. "It's a really great way for my kids to work with individuals with disabilities and bring them together into the studio."
Their first rehearsal on Monday prepared dancers for the show, which will end with a grand finale featuring cheerleaders and dancers from the Arc, Hays High School and FHSU. Participants practiced in large and small groups.
DSNWK participants are traveling from surrounding areas, including as far away as Norton. With the large number of performers, organizers said audience members can expect to see dancers in the aisles.
"You can just feel the whole auditorium moving, and it's a pretty cool piece," Biggs said.
Allison Dreiling, a Styles Dance Centre alumna, is again choreographing and leading rehearsals this year. The annual event began as a project in an FHSU leadership class and now fosters year-round connections.
"It's created such a community for my dancers that they may not have ever been introduced to if it weren't for this show," DeChant said. "We see these individuals out in the community and at other events. They remember us, they know our names and we know theirs."
Trudi Mapes, a DSNWK client and dancer, said she enjoyed the rehearsal and that it wasn't her first rodeo.
"I've done this lots of times—about four or five times," Mapes said.
The song she is learning to dance to is "You Don't Know You're Beautiful" by One Direction.
Biggs thanks the moms who work extra hours to make the event possible and the businesses that donated to the 20 raffle baskets.
DeChant said the show precedes her dancers’ upcoming competitions and offers an opportunity to practice while working with individuals with disabilities.
You can follow DSNWK and Styles Dance Centre on Facebook.