This past weekend I went to a dance for CAP’s Rainbow Respite program. Respite is a place where individuals with developmental disabilities can come for a week to give their caretakers some well-deserved time off. The dance was held in the community center and I couldn’t believe how beautiful it looked. This was the same place I had gone for my CPR and driver training, but I didn’t even recognize it. They put shiny silver paper all over the walls and used white icicle lights to illuminate the room. The theme was snowflakes, so they had white and blue sparkly snowflakes everywhere. They even built this “snow hut” type thing for everyone to take pictures in – very high school dance-esque.
Jackson Community volunteers at the Respite Snowflake Dance
I was a little nervous initially about going to this dance since I didn’t know any of the participants. I worried that they would be looking at me like “Who is this and why is she here?” but it turns out I was worried for nothing. Throughout the night, participants kept coming over to talk to me and dance with me. I love how un-self-conscious they all were. It didn’t matter that they had never met me before, they wanted to talk and saw no reason why they shouldn’t. I wish that I was able to walk up to someone I didn’t know and just strike up a conversation the way that they did, but I worry too much about what to say and how to get the conversation going.
Their willingness to just be was also evident in their dancing. There was one girl who would grab your hands and dance with you and then, without warning, spin you around in a circle. One man knew the words to most of the songs and would sing along, while keeping remarkably good rhythm with his dancing. Another man had no rhythm to speak of, but moved around to the music anyway. It was great to adopt that carefree spirit for the night. My housemates and I dressed up in blue, white, and sparkly skit clothes and cut out snowflakes to stick to our outfits. We jumped around to the music and just enjoyed ourselves, without concern about what we looked like or who was watching us.
I was exhausted by the end of the dance, but it was well worth it. I could tell the participants really enjoyed themselves, and it was great to be a part of it.
“Dance for yourself; if someone understands, good. If not, then no matter, go right on doing what you love.” – Anonymous
Erin C. is a long-term volunteer in Educational and Recreational Programming. She lives in the Jackson Volunteer Community.
