Dancers get into the groove in Aberdeen

Sporting blue outfits complete with sequins, dancers from the Dance Exploration class at the Aberdeen Recreation and Cultural Center took the spotlight Monday.

 They danced and shimmied and brought more than 200 audience members to their feet during a luncheon that was part of an annual conference on special education put on by the South Dakota Council for Exceptional Children.

 The Dance Exploration class is a class for dancers with special needs.

 The Aberdeen musical ensemble Better Ride also performed during the luncheon. Better Ride is a band of the Fallout Creative Community in Aberdeen that includes musicians with developmental disabilities.

 "To have two performing acts for our luncheon is amazing," said Elizabeth Fox, a staffer of the University of South Dakota Center for Disabilities.

 Molly Taylor has been teaching in the ARCC's dance program for 13 years. She started the special populations and adaptive dance program about nine years ago.

 Andrea Hathcote, an assistant professor of education at Northern State University, is president of the South Dakota Council for Exceptional Children.

 Hathcote introduced the Dance Exploration group for its performance. She told the audience about the ARCC's annual dance recitals and how they showcase a plethora of groups.

 "This particular dance troupe is always the most loved," she said.

 The five dancers were excited to have an extra opportunity to dance, Taylor said.

 "It went phenomenally, and we had a great crowd," she said. "They all thrive in the performance setting."

 With Taylor's direction and the help of two assistants, students showed how they warm up, practice dance moves across the floor and performed a few choreographed dances.

 Front and center, dancer Whitney Rauscher fed off the energy of the crowd and showcased her flexibility while sliding on the floor. Grace Latterell, Jessica Kingery, Letitia Smith and Ashley Kitzman, others in the class, also danced the routines they had learned.

 The dancers hugged after the performance, satisfied with a job well done.

 Taylor said she wants those who watch the dancers to realize that anything can be possible.

 Fox said about 200 people attended the conference, which ends today.

 The conference attracts special education instructors, school administrators and some parents. It's the first time it's been held in Aberdeen, she said.

 Topics including classroom strategies for special education instructors are discussed at the conference.

 "When they come together, they share what's working and not working in their classrooms and talk about new teaching techniques," Fox said of conference attendees.

 One emerging theme is the use of iPads in classrooms and applications that are available for students in special education programs.