USA Dance, Special Pops, enjoy gala holiday party
Even the most timid of those who participate in the Cape Coral Special Populations program eventually got up to dance. And that was the whole point.
Special Pops and USA Dance held its third annual Christmas party Wednesday at the Tony Rotino Senior Center, featuring performances from Special Pops participants and the dancers who volunteered their time to attend and perform at the hour-long program.
USA Dance has a ballroom dance program for Special Pops that has lasted for three years and grown steadily in that time. Coaches come in to help the dancers during their hour-long classes on Monday.
Carol Davis, USA Dance spokesperson, put the dancers through several routines which included the March of the Toy Soldiers from “The Nutcracker” presented by some of the males in the group, and a line dance and partner dance version of the Fox Trot, with a little marengue thrown in for good measure.
“You put that music on and they just fall in love with what they’re doing. Everyone is a dancer no matter where you look,” Davis said. “I’ll sit in a chair and tell everybody to dance and there are a few who won’t do it, but before the hour is up, they’re all dancers.”
Assistants helped the students over the past few months in preparation for the event, though they prefer to teach a new dance every six weeks or so to break up the monotony, Davis said.
The USA Dancers soon came on to show Special Pops the waltz, which is among their favorites, and Bruce and Deborah Marvin contributed their West Coast swing that got the nearly 100 Special Pops clients in attendance on their feet.
“Carol does an amazing job with these kids and they are so talented and happy all the time. It makes you feel good,” Deborah said. “What the Senior Center coupled with USA Dance is doing is wonderful for them.”
“We’ve done that dance at three USA Dance functions. When Carol asked to do this we couldn’t say no. We put it in automatic and people seemed to enjoy it,” Bruce said.