Why We Exist
How We Started
It started small, with the families of four children with Down Syndrome inquiring about dance classes made for kids with special needs. At the time, such classes didn’t exist, so Point Performing Arts created one.
As word grew, so did the class size, and parents, instructors, and medical professionals all noticed something rather amazing—that in addition to being the freeing outlet all children need to embrace themselves and their innate creativity, it was doing for them what even physical therapy at times cannot. The children were moving, laughing, having fun, developing motor movement, and socializing. Doctors began referring parents of special needs children to the program, occupational therapists started auditing classes and doing the same.
Eventually, the program outgrew Point Performing Arts, and Superstars of Point was conceived—a not-for-profit organization dedicated to engaging special needs children through dance.
What We Do
Students often come to the program shy and lacking in confidence. One student even refused to engage with the program at all for a full year, relying on a steady vocabulary of, “No.” Persistence on part of the student’s parents and grandparents saw a radical transformation, and now the student is enthusiasm personified—not only engaged with the program, but all smiles and communicating in full sentences.
Because of the therapeutic benefits of the program, program developers do place emphasis on enhancing mobility and flexibility. Students who were previously unable to put a foot to a knee progressed to skipping, balancing, following complex dance routines, resulting in physical improvements, including weight loss.
What began as a small class for a few special needs children has grown into a not-for-profit that has had a tremendous impact. Kids learn more than dance moves and routines—they learn to express joy in themselves and their accomplishments, find and develop their voice, all while improving their physical health and nurturing relationships that will last a lifetime.