Do Life BiG!

Hello all!

A Chance to Dance is thrilled to have embarked upon its 5th year.  Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected that God would give me this opportunity to direct this awesome organization for five years.  It has been nothing short of a blessing to watch the program and dancers grow.

In each thread of this organization is the theme to defy the odds and for a chance to enjoy life.  It comes as no surprise then that this year's recital theme is "Do Life Big".  My hope and prayer is that in its five years, ACTD has given dancers the platform to dance big, live big, and dream big.

Thank you to all our supporters and parents out there! We wouldn't have made it without you.

Hope you will all come to our show this year- May 23rd a 2 pm at The Center for the Arts & Sciences.

Leah

Inspiring Motion at Shriners

Hello,

Hope everyone is having a great summer.  A Chance to Dance recently had the opportunity to hang out and dance with some very special kids at Shriners Hospitals for Children-Houston. 

The first patient arrived to the dance class a few minutes after our ACTD crew completed set-up at the hospital.  She was quiet, still, and sitting in a wheelchair.  Her grandma was with her and began immediately encouraging her to "stand-up" and "dance with the teachers".  She was timid at first and very watchful of the teachers.  She began participating with small gestures and movements, always keeping in time with the music.  Soon she began moving her feet rapidly to the beat of the music and completing higher level ballet moves with mild prompting.  Her grandmother told us that she is a ballet and contemporary dancer, and it definitely showed.  She had graceful arms and demonstrated her balance with passes and grande plies.  While no words were spoken verbally, her joy was evident through her smile and familiar recognition of dance.  Towards the end of class, her grandma commented that her participation was amazing considering that she had only begun walking about a week ago.

Another patient began simply by watching the class before participating.  He let us know that he likes to "free-style" rap and wanted to teach us how to "swag" before our group left that day.  We all had a blast learning and teaching some hip-hop moves to him.  He did end up approving of our "swag" walk by the end of the morning.  Lots of laughter was shared and our teen volunteers were able to chat with him about contemporary Christian rap artists and even played some basketball before we left.

Once again, dance proves to transcend past the body to the soul.  It transcends past cultural differences so that an eclectic group of teen volunteers and teen patients can hang out and enjoy music and movement together.

Everyone had such a great time and we were able to gave great individual attention to the patients there.  We were all grateful for the opportunity and our volunteers remarked that they can't wait to come back and do it again.

Thanks Shriners for a great morning!

Leah

Charis Paul: Finding My Passion

 ​I attended my first A Chance to Dance recital in 2012.  I am not even sure why I decided to go that year.  I knew there was a stirring inside me to do something with my love for dance and my degree in special education.  I watched the dances in awe and wonder with tears in my eyes.  I knew at that moment that God had shown me a way to marry two things I love.  I came on board in the fall of 2012 as an instructor.  I expected to learn many things, to be challenged to view dance in a different way than I ever had before and to get to use my degree again.  I never expected to fall in love.  Each one of the children in our program captured my heart and drew me into their world.  Their pure joy for dance, love for me, and many hugs and smiles each week just brought such happiness into my life.  My first year was great and I thought it could not get any better.

​As we started this dance year God began a stirring inside me again.  I realized that A Chance to Dance had become more to me than just a program.  It had become my passion!  God had given me a vision for my future with A Chance to Dance that excited me and fueled the passion He had put inside me for these children and their families.  It is so much more than just teaching dance.  I love every one of these precious dancers, their families who support them in their love for dance, our wonderful volunteers and my biggest encouragers, Ms. Leah and Mrs.Kyndell!  

​This year I have learned so many things about myself that I never would have learned without being a part of such an amazing program and getting to work with incredible people.  I learned to accept my shortcomings and realize that my weaknesses are someone else’s strengths and the people who love you will pick up your slack.  I also learned that I have gifts that can be used in a mighty way to bless others.  Finally, I discovered that working with a team is so much more fun and productive than doing things by yourself.  So, as we approach recital this year I am blessed to see how much our dancers have learned and how far they have come this year.  I am also thankful to see how much I have learned and how far I have come this year!  It is always sad to say goodbye to our dancers for the summer but I am so excited to see what God has in store for us next year!

To our dancers, volunteers and Kyndell:  Thank you for blessing me each week and thank you for dancing with me!

Charis

Leah McGee: My Soul Cries Out

Hello to all!

I can't believe we are already to recital this week.  I am so pumped about this show.  It will be our biggest show yet for number of dancers as well as number of dances.  Everything has come together so perfectly, as it always does.  As soon as I let go of controlling everything, God steps in and arranges it all.

I'd like to share part of my journey to creating A Chance to Dance.  Each of the staff has our own story and I love how they interweave with one another.  When I was studying for my physical therapy degree from 2008-2011, I was constantly overcome with the amount of knowledge and skills that I was required to achieve.  The only way that I could ever come to peace with the demands and obtain my degree was by giving everything over to the Lord.  I was fortunate to have the support of great parents and a very flexible part-time job.  There was little time in my schedule that was unaccounted for.

I also felt a tugging pull at my soul to continue my passion for dance, especially for those with special needs.  It was an easy decision when I was asked to come back and teach modern dance classes at A Time to Dance in 2010.  However, I still felt that there was more that I was to be doing.  This "calling" became more urgent and things began to align quickly for A Chance to Dance.  I felt unequipped, inexperienced, and inadequate.  I had no where to turn but prayer.  Prayer that God would lead me through this new experience and that most of all that I would be a purposeful vessel for Him.  The song, From the Inside Out by Hillsong, became my anthem at this time.  Each time I hear this song, even 4 years later, I am taken back to this time in my life.  My soul was crying out.  I truly hope that our program has and can show love to these dancers- from the inside out.  No matter where they come from, or what they've been through- that we can embrace them and that we lose ourselves in selflessness towards them. 

Here are some of the lyrics:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt59GR64Ivk

"A thousand times I've failed
Still Your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
Still I'm caught in Your grace

Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame

 

My heart and my soul, I give You control
Consume me from the inside out, Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

 

Your will above all else
My purpose remains
The art of losing myself
In bringing You praise....

 

And the cry of my heart
Is to bring You praise
From the inside out
Lord, my soul cries out

My soul cries out to You
My soul cries out to You..."

 

My soul continues to cry out today.  I absolutely continue to hope for impacting the lives of our dancers and their families, but I also hope that we can be a positive environment for all who come to us, including our buddies, angels, instructors, and our many audiences.  I have certainly been changed by A Chance to Dance and by the incredible people who have crossed our doors.  I am grateful to be a part of it and thankful that we are continuing to grow each year.

 

I am looking forward to recital and am already Celebrating all of the accomplishments this year.

 

Stay tuned for special blogs by each of our staff this week.

 

- Ms. Leah
 

 

    

Celebrate!

It's time to CELEBRATE!  Our recital theme has been chosen, and our audience should be looking forward to the celebration of life, dance, and ability at our recital on May 31st this year.

We try to bring in new elements which better feature our dancers in recital each year.  This year will be no exception and I am very excited to see how everything turns out.  We will be adding a few new "touches" to our program and plan to have over 8 pieces of choreography, our biggest show yet.

I had the fun opportunity of assisting a couple of dancers in class today and I can say that I have very much missed spending time with them in class.  Recital is going accurately reflect how fantastic our volunteers are in addition to the technical growth of our classes this year.  But most of all, it is going to show how much these dancers LOVE to dance.

We are also celebrating because our program is continuing to grow.  Perhaps you may have already read the Texas Woman's University Alumni Connection's article on us this week, which goes into a bit of depth on our planned growth.  http://4twualumni.wordpress.com/2014/01/23/a-chance-to-dance/.   The Lake Jackson program has grown every year since the commencement of A Chance to Dance in 2010.  For 2014, we are looking at a few opportunities to expand into the Houston area.  My hope is that we can use what we have learned from starting this program to make it a success for an even wider group of individuals.  Please be in prayer for our staff and A Chance to Dance as a whole as we branch out in the next year.

May each of you find something to celebrate today!

-Leah

2014

With a new year comes new hopes and new dreams for many people.  I'd like to believe this includes the precious families and dancers that we have the opportunity to interact with each week.  A Chance to Dance (ACTD) was a dream come true for me in 2010.  Each year, we've set the goals and our hopes higher and higher.  Still, our dancers rise to the occasion.

Some of the best part of the new is the growth we have seen in our new students this year.  It can be described as a jig-saw puzzle at times- getting to figure out each dancer's needs and how to best meet them.  It seems that at our half-way point each year we've found the right pieces for each student, and it's such a joy to see them all start to connect to form a much fuller and brighter picture.

This year, I hope for our spring recital to be chock-full of our dancers' character.  I have a few new ideas bouncing around in my head, and am excited to see how they will turn out.  I also look forward to truly representing the talents that each of our students have.

It has been a blessing to direct this organization- an adventure that couldn't be possible without the dedication of our teachers and volunteers.  Cheers to a prosperous new year!

Leah