In the News

The I CAN! Dancers will take the stage with central Arkansas “celebrities” during the fifth annual “I CAN! Dance with the Stars” at 3 p.m. Sunday at Reynolds Performance Hall on the University of Central Arkansas campus.

The recital is free and open to the public.

“Each class has been working on a routine for about 10 weeks and is now ready to perform,” Director Julie Mayberry said. “These students are hoping for a large turnout of residents to cheer them on.”

Students from Blackbird Academy of the Arts in Conway, Ms. Karen’s Dance Studio in North Little Rock, Reve Dance Academy in Sherwood and I CAN! Arts and Resource Center in Saline County will perform.

The celebrities will be Congressman French Hill, KARK’s Stephanie Sharp, KTHV’s Marielle Mohs, The Fish 93.3’s Steve Marston, Department of Human Services Director Cindy Gillespie, UCA President Tom Courtway, KATV’s Elicia Dover and musician Bree Ogden.

The class started when 2-year-old Katie Mayberry, who was born with spina bifida and bound to a wheelchair, asked her mom if she could take a dance class like her big sister.

Her mom responded, “When you turn 3,” thinking Katie would forget by then.

She didn’t. When Katie turned 3, she asked her mom again, prompting her mother to find other children with disabilities to form a class.

“The first class began in 2005 with two students and has now grown to include seven different locations and 11 special needs classes,” Mayberry said. “Each class has approximately 10 children, ages 4 to adult, with disabilities including spina bifida, Down’s syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism and other developmental delays.”

For more information, visit www.icanarkansas.com or call 501-888-4140 or 501-993-1982.