Get Down With Down Syndrome

Are you ready to Get Down?  Dance Masters Jo and Julia, two volunteers with 24 years of dancing experience between them, choreographed and taught a dance routine to our teen participants this summer.   The teens received an invitation to dance at St. Andrew’s Palooza on Saturday to show off their cool dance moves!  They really rocked it!

We asked Jo and Julia to tell us a little more about their volunteer experience at GiGi’s and dancing.

Tell Us About Yourself?Teen Dance collage

Jo:  Hi! I’m 15 years old.   I’m a sophomore at St. Ignatius and I’m on the dance team and lacrosse team there.  I have one little sister.  I’ve been dancing since I was really little and I LOVE it!

Julia:  Hi!  I am a sophomore at St. Ignatius.  I have an older sister, brother-in-law and a niece.  I’ve always loved being a dancer and now it’s fun to be a teacher too!

When did you start dancing?

Jo:  I started dancing when I was about 3 years old.

Julia:  I started dancing when I was three years old too!  Since then, I have done ballet, hip-hop, tap, modern, jazz, and Irish dance.

What is your favorite style of dance?

Jo: My favorite style of dance is either modern or ballet.  Ballet, probably, because I’ve been doing it since I was little and I love it.  And I love modern because it’s very different than ballet and very fun!

Julia:  My favorite style of dance is ballet.  Ballet is what I have been doing the longest and it has always been the most fun.  There is so much you can do with it and so many ways to interpret it so it tells a different story every time.

What was your favorite part of teaching the teens to dance this summer?

Jo:  My favorite part of teaching the teens this summer was getting to meet new people and work with them and get to know them.

Julia:  My favorite part of teaching the teens dance is watching how much energy they bring.  Every week they are more excited than the last and always eager to learn new steps or show us what they have been working on.

You can see the teens, Jo, and Julia dance at our “Get Down With Down Syndrome” Dance-A-Thon on Saturday, October 3rd from 2:00 – 5:00pm at the Ravenswood United Church of Christ, 2050 W. Pensacola Ave, Chicago, IL  60618.  Click here for more info or to register!

#getdownwithdownsyndrome

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