By Lisa Autz
The children at St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children in Bayside were all smiles last Thursday as they showed off their dance moves with dancer Val Chmerkovskiy from the reality competition show “Dancing with the Stars.”
The children performed adaptive and wheelchair dancing for the audience while Chmerkovskiy, along with Z100’s radio hosts Garret and Danielle Monaro, scored their routines just like in the hit dance show competition.
Battling some of the most complex and life-limiting medical conditions, these children had the crowd in awe dancing inside St. Mary’s’ music therapy room in the newly renovated rehabilitation wing.
St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children is the city’s only post-acute rehabilitation hospital for children. More than 100 children ranging in age from 25 weeks to 18 years have a home at the hospital, at 29-01 216th St.
The facility attempts to serve all aspects of the healing process by providing intensive medical care, rehabilitation and education — at home and in the community. The new state-of-the-art Patient Pavilion center opened in October and creates a colorful environment with recreational therapies for children to play, socialize and regain their independence.
“We use art, music, yoga … untraditional means for our rehabilitation activities,” said Leslie Johnson, director of communications and marketing at St. Mary’s.
With the help of caregivers, staff members and Diane Discepolo, of the Roll Call Wheelchair Dance organization, 25 children performed dance numbers that they had been practicing since March.
“You cannot be unhappy and dance,” claims Discepolo, the New Jersey-based dancing instructor and co-founder of Roll Call Wheelchair Dance, who travels to St. Mary’s every Thursday to what she calls the best hour of her week.
Wheelchair dancing works with the abilities of each child while egos and disabilities are left at the door, according to Discepolo, who explains the group’s motto as “face to face, hand to hand, heart to heart.”
The nonprofit was created by Discepolo, along with her friend John Nyemchek, and was inspired by a series of people in her life who became wheelchair-bound through disease and tragic accidents. The group serves the New York City area, northern New Jersey and southwestern Connecticut with programs that bring the joy of dance to children and adults with all movement and developmental disorders.
While working with Sofia, 6, a patient at St. Mary’s who is confined to a wheelchair and has limited mobility in her arms, Discepolo discovered the young girl’s own unique dance abilities. Together they developed a routine that had Sofia shaking her shoulders and bobbing her head all over the dance floor, giving even Chmerkovskiy a lesson on wheelchair dancing.
“To spend only three hours of my day and bring this for the kids … there is nothing like it,” said Chmerkovskiy, who was introduced to St. Mary’s with the help of Clear Channel Media and Entertainment’s Z100 team. “It helps bring more awareness to these children so they can continue to thrive.”
Recognizing the healing power of music, St. Mary’s and Clear Channel teamed up five years ago to create a music therapy environment.
“It gives the kids the opportunity to express themselves and be in front of an audience,” said Vivian Figueroa, vice president at St. Mary’s, who called up Roll Call Wheelchair Dancing after watching their segment on the TV show “20/20” in January.
The dance performance was only a sneak peak to the final dance production scheduled to take place on the new facility’s one-year anniversary in October, according to Figueroa, who said elaborate costumes will be incorporated for the finale just like the real “Dancing with the Stars.”
“Look at me” said Discepolo, smiling in response to how it feels to continue working with these kids. “I’m honored.”
