Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 16, 1993 TAG: 9301160091
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MELISSA DeVAUGHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
A DANCE FOR THE CLINTONS
Jo Beth Rogers had rehearsed for four months to get her dance routine just right. Her twirls, arm movements and hip gyrations were timed with Madonna's popular song, "Vogue." It's called "vogueing" and includes lots of stances and holding poses.She had no idea that that dance two years ago at Radford University would lead to a solo guest appearance at the Kennedy Center in Washington next week for President-elect Clinton's inauguration.
"I'm excited," Jo Beth said. "I'm not nervous."
Jo Beth, a 20-year-old Christiansburg High School student, has Down syndrome, a congenital form of mental retardation. She doesn't talk much, answering most questions with a "yes" or a "no," but when she hits the dance floor, her personality comes alive.
Dancing is what she loves to do.
Teresa Mullen, Jo Beth's mother, received a call Tuesday from Kay Smith, executive director of Very Special Arts of Virginia. Smith was at that Radford performance and had seen Jo Beth dance.
Smith is on the inauguration committee responsible for setting up next week's festivities, and she was seeking a representative from Virginia's Very Special Arts program - the same group that had sponsored the Radford performance two years ago.
"I've never forgotten Jo Beth's performance," Smith said. "Her performance was very clever and she represents what we stand for - just because you have a disability doesn't mean you cannot excel in the arts."
The invitation was last-minute, admits Mullen, but that made no difference to her - or to Jo Beth.
"Dancing is easy," Jo Beth said.
Since Tuesday's phone call, Mullen and Kim Rogers, Jo Beth's stepmother, have been working with Jo Beth to perfect the dance again.
"So far, we've practiced [two days] and by the end of [Wednesday] afternoon she had remembered it all," Rogers said. "It's amazing how she still knows it," Mullen said.
Jo Beth doesn't seem overly concerned about next week's performance in front of thousands. After all, dancing is where she is most comfortable.
"She's a ham," said Jo Beth's father, Rick Rogers. "She loves [dancing]. She's always gone a lot and done a lot and she's not exactly shy about it."
Mullen agrees.
"She's been dancing for about 10 years," she said. "She had ballet for three years, was on the Demon Dancers [Christiansburg High School's dance team] and has taken a lot of dance classes. They were regular dance classes, too, where she was the only one with a handicap."
Naturally, the entire family is excited about Jo Beth's invitation. Things have been hectic, though, Mullen said, since the invitation was made on short notice.
It helps that Mullen's sister lives in Washington, solving the problem of where to stay.
There will be four representatives from Very Special Arts, and Jo Beth represents all of Southwest and Central Virginia. Other participants come from Maryland, Washington and Virginia Beach. The minifestival will be Tuesday beginning at noon.
Jo Beth is excited about the possibility of meeting Clinton. "I voted for him - he's my favorite," she said.
But Mullen doubts they will even see him. In fact, she thinks he probably will not even attend.
"If anyone's there, it would probably be Hillary Clinton," Mullen said. "She's the one that loves kids so much."