Sunday, May 17, 2009

WE CAN GET ANOTHER LIMB!

"We can get another limb?" was the phrase I heard while visiting a friend in the hospital. Her son, Chad had been hit by a train and had to have his leg amputated. He is 21 years old and although it was a tragic accident, he still has his life. The family talked about how there were 2 other train accidents that day - each of them fatal as their bodies rolled under the train. When Chad got hit, his body flew up in the air and landed on the platform where there were people to get him immediate attention. Before going to the hospital my friends and I were a little anxious about what we would see. Hearing of this horrific accident we could only imagine what his body would look like. As we walked in the room we saw a beautiful; young man with no scratches or bruises on the top half of his body. One leg was gone and the other was bandaged and pinned together but praise God, Chad was still alive. Heavily sedated and unable to speak for now, Chad will undoubtedly face challenges as he recovers. I don't know how he will handle the loss of a limb but what I do know is that the faith and strength of his family & friends will be a huge part of his successful recovery. The streams of family and friends that have come to the hospital are a testament to how much Chad and his family is loved. The power of prayer is being realized as he recovers.

As dancers, we place much emphasis on our bodies. obviously; our bodies are our instruments - we speak with our bodies. I encourage you today to pause for a moment and think about your life. What does it speak? If we spend as much time training our souls as we spend perfecting our limbs, our lives would speak masterpieces. I wait expectantly for the day Chad will dance down the aisle. Please take time out today and pray for Chad & his family. He still has his life, and we trust God today for a full recovery.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

But I could dance!


My 8th grade students recently performed THE AUDACITY OF HOPE at our Mothers day forum. Donna Flagg, our keynote speaker spoke to our mothers about her journey from being a truant, failing student, unable to read - to an author and entrepreneur. I thought it was going to be the typical "I thought I was a failure but look what I've done with my life" speech. My students and I were flawed when she said "I felt like I couldn't do anything - But, I could dance!" When she said it she looked right at my girls and they were glued to her every word after that. Her passion for dance helped her realize that she was really good at something. Her gift of dance helped her get into college. She eventually learned she had a learning disability. I don't call it a disability but a differbility - because she learns differently. Dealing with her differbility helped her get her life on track. She worked her way into corporate America and now has her own company. The Krysalis Group - a consulting firm that provides training programs, marketing expertise and strategic solutions for business. My four dancers were mesmerized. We've had athletes, inmates, politicians, educators, etc... come and speak at our school but a dancer - wow! Donna spoke of how she used her passion for dance to fuel her desire to succeed. To make matters even better, 3 of my dancers found out that day that they had been accepted into Newark's Arts High School for dance. I'm so thankful they were there that day to hear Donna. Whether they become professional dancers or not they know for sure that they can and will succeed - why? because for the rest of their life no matter what they do they'll be able to say "But I could dance!