A CHANCE TO DANCE

BY CHERYL ANGELELLI

The music of a fiery Tango fills the room. You can feel the floor vibrate from the beat of the music as the graceful and elegantly clad dancers take their positions. At first glance it may look like any other ballroom dance competition, with one exception: The competitors are all wheelchair users.

This inaugural event, hosted July 16 in Detroit by Dance Mobility, was the first ever Para Dance Sport competition in the U.S. More than a dozen dancers from across the country participated.

Para Dance Sport was founded in Sweden in 1968 and is currently practiced in nearly 40 countries. However, it has been slow to grow in popularity in the U.S.

After retiring from Para Swimming in 2014, I was looking for a new competitive adapted sport and fell in love with wheelchair ballroom dancing. I soon realized the opportunities for others to experience Para Dance Sport in the U.S. were limited, so I co-founded Dance Mobility in 2015. Funded by a grant from the RIM Foundation, and in partnership with Fred Astaire Dance Studios-Michigan Region, Dance Mobility provides free monthly group lessons in wheelchair ballroom dancing.

In 2019, my dance partner, Tamerlan Gadirov, and I began to work with other Fred Astaire studios across the country to start local wheelchair ballroom dancing programs. Dance Mobility has launched programs in six states and continues to grow.

We are excitedly planning for an international competition next year, welcoming para dancers from around the world.

To learn more about Dance Mobility, visit dancemobility.org

Photos by Sylvia Jarrus

Top: 14-year-old Eve Dahl gets her make-up done for the competition. The Wisconsin teen is an emerging star in Para Dance Sport. Middle: Competitors take to the floor to warm up prior to the start of the competition. Left: Cheryl Angelelli and her partner Tamerlan Gadirov have competed internationally in Para Dance Sport, and they continue to be ambassadors for the sport in the United States.

Photos by Paul Stoloff

Top, Right: 11-year-old Zoey Spencer started coming to Dance Mobility classes over a year ago because she wanted to dance with her dad. Their emotional duet won praise from the judges and audience. Top, Left: Alonzo White, pictured with his partner Beatrix Weih, from Michigan, has been attending Dance Mobility classes since it opened in 2015. “Dancing has given me back my life again,” White says. Left: Lauren Arena and her partner Arkadiy Stepanchuk, from New York, have been part of the ballroom scene for years, but this was the first time they competed together as partners.