THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 17, 1995 TAG: 9502160102
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARLENE FORD, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
The gnashing of metal wheelchairs was one thing, but the laughs and hand clapping to ``Achey Breaky Heart'' was totally another.
``Take it easy, will you,'' hooted Louise Rogers, a worker with the city's Community Services Board. ``This is line dancing, not Nirvana.''
Rock, country, whatever, it wasn't all that important to this room full of dancers. Tripping the light fantastic to the calls of local dancer Johnathan Lindsey, even occasionally colliding in their wheelchairs, was pure fun.
Last Sunday, Very Special Arts Virginia-Virginia Beach and the Mental Retardation Services division of the Virginia Beach Community Services Board presented a celebration of music, drama, dance and the visual arts for persons with mental or physical disabilities and those without. From juggling to mural painting, from bell choir performances to sculpture, it was an afternoon of shared fun and creativity at the Kempsville Recreation Center.
``This is our first adult festival,'' explained Elaine Hutcheson, assistant coordinator for Very Special Arts' local chapter. ``We surveyed the agencies in Virginia Beach that deal with persons with disabilities about what arts are available and who participated. We found there were very few such programs, and those that were available were not always easy for adults to take advantage of.
``So for more than a year a committee consisting of people from the city's Mental Retardation-Developmental Disabilities Programs and members of Very Special Arts has been working to make this happen.''
Involvement in the arts is wonderful for anyone's self-esteem, she added, but on a practical level it also gives disabled persons an opportunity to deal with a mixed group, to learn such employment skills as speaking, presentation and creativity.
``There are 9,000 persons with disabilities in Virginia Beach schools, many of whom are near graduation. And unless they have developed interests outside school or work, or unless they feel comfortable with people without disabilities, what do they do with their leisure time. Stare at a TV?''
Most of the disabled participants attend school or work. Some do both. And none of the nearly 200 who participated in the festival seemed destined to spend time just watching the tube.
In one room at the rec center, 10 adults (guest artists) from Henrico rehearsed one final time for their bell choir concert later in the afternoon.
``C-C-C . . . E-D-C . . . ,'' director Kay Henry whispered while pointing to the choir members. On cue, each flicked his tone bell with the grandiose gesture of a concert violinist drawing his bow. People crammed the doorway to watch, then clapped and bravoed at the climactic ending of ``You'll Never Walk Alone.'' Every performer smiled in surprise. This was just the warm-up.
In another room, mural painting was in session. Valentine and flower motifs were in order. However Kelly Webb, smocked in a plastic bag, was of another mind. She grimaced and said, ``What do you mean chicken? This is a duck.'' Then she laughed. ``Well, at least you knew it was a bird.''
Painting next to Webb, Marlene Bergman a driver for the Supportive Living Group, said, ``I drove 12 people here today. Sure, I could have gone home in between, but line dancing, mural painting, lunch . . . this is fun.''
And center stage in the theater, Lori Shapiro entertained an audience with Pete Seeger and as many folk tunes as would fit before the performances of mime, ballroom dancing and the bell choir from Henrico. The performers were a mixture of persons with and without disabilities . As were those who directed the workshops in the arts, all volunteered talent and time.
Back at line dancing class, Rogers was still shouting advice from the sidelines. ``Hey, we're going to the left, the left.''
She added more quietly, and to no one in particular, ``They need people to work with them. They give a lot, but they really don't ask for much.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos by MARLENE FORD
Enjoying a country line dancing workshop are James Coleman and
volunteer Shannon Tracey (above) and Chuck May and volunteer Paul
Dunn (right).
Photo by MARLENE FORD
Kelly Webb, background, and Marlene Bergman, a driver for the
Supportive Living Group, create a mural. ``I drove 12 people here
today,'' Bergman said. ``Sure, I could have gone home in between,
but line dancing, mural painting, lunch . . . this is fun.''
ABOUT THE GROUP
Very Special Arts Virginia-Virginia Beach is a non-profit,
all-volunteer organization dedicated to enriching the lives of
persons with disabilities through opportunities in the arts. To help
provide for future programs, contributions should be sent to VSA
Va.-Va. Beach, Adult Programs, c/o Winnie Williams, 2218 Ebb Tide
Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23451. To learn more about Very Special
Arts, call coordinator Shirley Shapiro at 467-0225 or assistant
coordinator Elaine Hutcheson at 523-0932.
by CNB