Run Luau Run

So I swear this isn’t turning into a ballet blog, really I promise.  I will be getting back to the running and the fitness and the healthful life choices at some point, but I have to write about this guy – Mr. Gino.

As I wrote about earlier, we finally found a dance school that had the tools and the will to adapt a class for kids like my little Brooke.  You can read that post —>HERE<—.  Is the class a traditional ballet class with leotards, tights and hair up in a bun?  No.  The class is a mix of music and movement and expression that allow kids like Brooke to participate fully.  Midway through watching today’s class, I tweeted this:

Dear @BostonBallet adaptive class – I LOVE seeing my baby SO engaged in a dance class setting! THANK YOU!!! pic.twitter.com/0ZUb6FW0

(Click on the pic.twitter link to see the picture)

From the moment the class starts to the end, a full 60 minutes later, Mr. Gino has the kids in the class moving.  What had me absolutely amazed with Mr. Gino was that he got everybody, EVERYBODY to participate in the various activities the class went through.  This is a dance class populated solely with kids on the Autism Spectrum.  These are kids that, in a traditional classroom, can have a lot of difficulty participating.  But Mr. Gino got every, single one of them to participate fully.  At one point they had a dance circle where the kids formed a circle and one by one each child would go into the circle and do a 10 second dance riff of their choice while the rest of the group would cheer.  I was not convinced that every kid would go in, but sure enough, Mr. Gino got them all to not only get in and dance in their own special way, he got them to do it, one by one, in order and most importantly, with a smile.

This is a man with a special gift.  Thank you Mr. Gino for making Saturday mornings for my baby such a wonderful experience.

Brooke hugging Mr. Gino…and she doesn’t like hugging anybody but a very, select few.