DREAM

Dancers Realize Excellence through Arts and Movement (DREAM) is an inclusive dance program to promote participation in children with developmental disabilities. The DREAM project evaluated the experiences of children with and without development disabilities, who participated in a five-day inclusion dance program in Harlem, NY.

This study was a collaboration between the NRL and Stony Brook University's Agnes McConlogue Ferro, PT, DPT. National Dance Institute partnered withDr. Ferro, a Board-certified pediatric physical therapist, to create a workshop that offers children of all abilities the chance to move, dance, and go beyond what they believed  possible.

Using NDI's unique pedagogy and the expertise of an NDI teaching artist team led by Master Teacher Kay Gayner, this five-day program honed the abilities of learners with special needs through dance, live music, and performance. Children with disabilities were paired with typically developing peers to maximize participation. Dancers worked together under the guidance of Kay, Agnes, NDI teaching artists, and physical therapy students to master choreography and gain partnership and performance skills, working toward functional goals within a joyful, rigorous, and supportive group dynamic. The workshop culminated in an informal performance celebrating the children’s achievements. The study explored qualitative methods of inquiry through the use of visual explorations of the children’s self-perception and view of participation in the DREAM program.