Two years before joining Mark DeGarmo & Dancers' dance and literary program, Stanely was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The tumor was removed and he was home schooled until entering second grade. The therapists working with him at the hospital had been unsuccessful in getting him to communicate, and when Stanley entered the second grade class, he was a selective mute. On the first day of our dance class, Stanley stood in the back of the room and watched our dance instructor teach. He listened carefully and began to follow her instructions as the lessons progressed. His classroom teacher said that watching Stanley in dance class offered the chance for her to see him smile as he experienced a comfort level with his peers that she didn’t usually see in her classroom.
His dance journal writing also improved, both in length and content. His classroom teacher said that our dance and literacy program helped him feel more like a part of her class. Stanely continued to progress throughout the year, and at the end of the year he read aloud from his dance journal for his second grade class:
“The boys’ part is the jellyfish and the mermaid. We did the jellyfish in corner left then we stopped in corner right. In the beginning we did the stingray. I got better at doing the diving.”
