Children Parade Their Talent at ‘Very Special Arts Festival’

Ellen Harris watched with tears running down her cheeks Saturday as her 4-year-old daughter, Paige, joined 14 other students from her school in singing, “We Are the World” at the Music Center.

Although the song was written to aid starving children half a planet away, it had special meaning for Harris. When her daughter was born retarded, doctors said there was little hope that the girl would ever progress far mentally.

But there she was, belting out Michael Jackson’s solo part.

“It makes me so proud to think that she could come this far,” Harris said. “You never realize what they can do. Then, all of a sudden, you see them up there performing.”

Paige Harris was one of more than 2,500 mentally and physically disabled youngsters from special education schools throughout Southern California who participated in the sixth annual “Very Special Arts Festival.” The event, celebrating the artistic achievements of handicapped children, was sponsored by the Music Center, the Los Angeles County superintendent of schools, the Los Angeles Unified School District and the National Committee of the Arts for the Handicapped.

The festival, held in the courtyard between the Mark Taper Forum and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, featured art displays, dancing, singing, play-acting--even a magic show.

“This is one of the few opportunities these children have where they can get recognition for what they contribute,” said Lidia Krzyzanowski, a special education teacher at Pace School in Bellflower. “It’s also one of the few opportunities where the families can come and see their child be a star.”

Mary Douglas, whose 17-year-old daughter, Barbara, attends Tonopah School in West Covina, said it is important for a handicapped child “to experience being the most important person, instead of the bystander.”

On one stage, a group of 68 Pace children, wearing bright costumes and painted faces, carried huge masks on poles and danced to the carnival sounds of Mardi Gras emanating from percussion instruments. On another, various groups of students performed break-dancing, folk dancing, ballet, wheelchair square dancing, pompon routines and a series of Beatles’ songs.

‘Good for Parents’

“It’s good for parents to see others with children like ours,” said Roeita Ross, whose 7-year-old daughter Marissa performed in the Mardi Gras dance. “It lets you know you’re not alone. It’s a good morale booster for us.”

A group of deaf students from the Marlton School in Los Angeles performed a play in sign language about the fabled “Land of Point,” where everyone is born with a point on his head. One day, a boy is born with no point, and, because he is different, he is exiled to the “Pointless Forest,” according to director Henry Ward.

“He learns that although other people have a point on their head, he has a point in his heart,” Ward said. “We may come in different shapes, sizes, abilities or disabilities, but when it gets right down to it, we’re all the same.”