‘Dancing Wheels’ dance troupe does the impossible

By Elizabeth Butler
Photo Editor

Around 1,600 students from the public schools of Robeson County took place in the all-day events at GPAC, which began at 8 a.m. with registration for the teachers to sign in their students.

There was a principal’s breakfast from 8:30-9:30 a.m. in the Faculty Dining room.

An opening ceremony for Dancing Wheels was held from 9:45-10 a.m. The performance started at 10 a.m. and lasted until around 11:30 a.m. The students then had lunch and went to the Art Fair/Festival at Noon to enjoy face painting.

The fun did not stop when the younger students left. Dancing Wheels took the stage also that night at 7 p.m. Dancing Wheels, in its 23rd season, reminded the audience about the joy of the 1970s.

The performance can be summed up, as “triumph of the human will to succeed.” Dancing Wheels is a modern dance company that integrates professional “stand-up” and “sit-down” dancers. The “sit-down” dancers showed that they don’t let their physical disabilities stop them from doing what they love.

“The performance is wonderful,” said Patricia Fields, executive director of GPAC. “It is really just amazing.”

Mary Verdi-Fletcher is the founder of Dancing Wheels. She was born with spina bifida.

“I was born with a disability but I was fortunate enough to have parents who were in the arts,” Verdi-Fletcher said. “My mother was a dancer and my father was a musician. As a little girl, I wanted to be a dancer, but back then it seemed to be an impossibility.”

Verdi-Fletcher had entered a “Dance Fever” competition back in the 1980s and came in second place as dance alternates with a friend of hers and that was how Dancing Wheels was created.

“After that I just could not stop dancing,” Verdi-Fletcher said. David Nau was one of the “sit-down” dancers. Eleven years ago, he was in a car accident when a deer ran out in front of his car. The car rolled and the roof caved in and hit him on his head, breaking his neck. Due to the accident, Nau is a quadriplegic. Despite all the odds and rough times Nau faced, he never gave up hope.

“The doctors told me that I would never be able to do a wheelie, but I proved the doctors to be wrong,” Nau said. “Dancing has taught me how to live a better life in the wheelchair.”

Hernando Cortez is a choreographer for Dancing Wheels. He introduced the last piece, entitled: Bacharach Suites, which was a world premiere.

“It’s a fun little suite of a number,” Cortez said. Some of the songs danced to were: “What’s New Pussycat?,” “Say a Little Prayer” and “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again.”