December 8, 2011 • THE VILLAGER • PAGE 17Holiday Gift Guide 2011 FLEURISH

RESERVED SEATING | MOBILE TICKETING | VIP PREMIERE SEATING

9 3D SCREENS | 100% SONY 4K DIGITAL PRESENTATION

THE STREETS AT SOUTHGLENN • SOUTH UNIVERSITY AND EAST ARAPAHOE • 720–931–6008

W W W . G O H O L L Y W O O D . C O M

S O U T H G L E N N S T A D I U M 1 4

SLOW ROASTED DUCK CONFIT POT PIE PAIRED WITH CORREGGIA ROERA NEBBIOLO (2008)

[ ON THE MEZZANINE ]

BAR • GRILL • PREMIERE SEATING

DENVER’S ONLY FOOD-CENTRIC MOVIE HOUSE FEATURING

T H I S W E E K ’ S P R E M I E R E S P O T L I G H T:

Be Beautiful Be Yourself Dance Program builds strength, self-confidenceBy Courtney Brasee

F rom The Global Down Syndrome Foundation comes a new generation of dance lessons. The Be

Beautiful Be Yourself Dance Class is for children who have Down syn-drome. On Oct. 23 and Oct. 30, the program held its recitals at the Colo-rado Ballet Studios.

Based on Boston Children’s Hospital’s dance program, this class was developed by the Sie Center’s world-renowned physical therapist and Down syndrome expert, Patri-cia C. Winders. Organized by the Global Down Syndrome Founda-tion, the Sie Center and the Colo-rado Ballet, it was launched in the spring of 2010 with 10 children.

Each calendar year there are four Be Beautiful Be Yourself Dance Classes serving children ages 5-9 and 10-14. The classes run one day a week for 10 consecutive weeks at the Colorado Ballet. Each class cul-minates with a recital for approxi-mately 100 family members and friends where the students show off their skills and their self-confidence. This class was even featured on 9News “Storytellers” in May 2010.

With teacher Becca Jacobson, company dancer Sally Turkel, phys-ical therapy student Sarah Mann and the Anna and John J. Sie Center for Down Syndrome’s Patricia C. Winders, the experience is sure to be an amazing one.

There are two physical therapists and two dance instructors who en-sure that the students receive plenty of individual attention.

Winders is not only a world-re-nowned physical therapist, but also a Down syndrome expert. Over the

last three decades, she has captured important gross motor information for children with Down syndrome that forms the best practices out-lined in her book. From crawling to walking to participating fully in exercise and sports, she has helped thousands of individuals with Down syndrome reach their gross motor skills potential. Through locomotor movements that incorporate shapes, rhythm and basic dance steps, she helps children build kinesthetic and cognitive skills. The class also explores basic movement concepts in relation to creative development and ballet fundamentals. Winders is thrilled with the results of the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Dance Class. She has enjoyed learning from the program in Boston and from the dancers at the Colorado Ballet. She is most impressed by what the stu-dents learn in just 10 weeks and is very proud of each student’s perfor-mance at the end of class recital.

Mann is a doctor of physical therapy student at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Cam-pus. She has worked as an NSCA

certified personal trainer with young adults with Down syndrome since 2004.

Turkel joined Colorado Ballet’s Studio Company in 2008. Prior to the class she did not have much experience with children who have Down syndrome but she thoroughly

enjoys every student and is im-pressed by their desire to learn and passion for dance.

Jacobson is active with two lo-cal professional dance companies developing her skills as a dancer, teacher and choreographer. She is a Teaching Artist with Think360 Arts and a member of the ArtReach Pro-grams Advisory Committee. Prior to the class she did not have much experience with children who have Down syndrome but today, with the help of Winders, she more clearly understands the diverse learning styles. Her experience with the class is one of great joy and satisfaction.

All of these amazing instructors have been with the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Dance Class since the be-ginning.

Girls and boys with Down syn-drome make friends and learn so much during the two and a half

month course. Not only do they gain physical stamina, learn ballet move-ment, verbalization exercises and music appreciation, but they also end with a tremendous amount of self-confidence.

The Be Beautiful Be Yourself Dance Class for Children with Down Syndrome was made avail-able by generous donations from Sandy Wolf of The Melvin and Elaine Wolf Foundation and from the Global Down Syndrome Foun-dation.

For more information or to regis-ter for the class, call or e-mail Trish Morris at 303-807-7898 or tmorris @globaldownsyndrome.org.

The purpose of this class is to instill a lifelong love of dance and movement in each student. And af-ter seeing how happy each child is, it is obvious that this goal is com-pleted.

Students and instructors pose proudly for a picture after their dance recital.Photos courtesy Be Beautiful Be Yourself Dance Class