BUENA PARK : Dance Puts Children on Their Toes

A saxophone blared in the background as Steve Caruso, wearing a Hulk Hogan T-shirt and sneakers, practiced his best pirouette.

Running around in a circle with his hands in the air, he turned, jumped and then kicked, karate-style, before freezing, delighting his classmates and himself.

On Friday, Steve was one of about 70 mentally disabled students at the Hope Special Education Center who received a free lesson in dance from professional artist Zina Bethune. Since 1983, Bethune, who has struggled to perform for many years in spite of a debilitating illness, has been teaching those with physical and mental disabilities to dance.

“Creativity reaches out on another level,” she said during a break between classes. “That is what is great.”

This week marked the opening of Bethune’s Dance Outreach program which offers free classes to students at Hope and 11 other schools around Southern California. The nonprofit group is maintained by grants and private donations. The Hope School program is funded by a donation from John and Donna Crean.

Gathering in the school’s music room, classical music with a disco-thumping drum beat played as Bethune introduced herself to the class. “I am a dancer,” she told them. Their response is a mixture of recognition from the children who took dance last year, and puzzlement from those who didn’t.

Missing from the dance classroom were the bars and mirrors, but the movements were the same. The students followed as she demonstrated rudimentary ballet positions. “First (position) is carrying a beach ball,” she said, as she gracefully raised her arms above her head.

While some of Bethune’s students are confronted with physical limitations, the dancers at Hope School are challenged by their minds.

Ranging in age from 12 to 22, many are severely mentally retarded and have very low skill levels. Even the slightest movement can be a struggle.

Those who regularly work with the students say dance gives them a freedom they can’t get anywhere else. “This is one of the best methods to reach them,” said Principal Marilyn Miller. Miller said that students who have behavior problems in the classroom do not exhibit the same behavior when they are in the dance class.

“Even the students without real high skills are participating,” she said as she watched the students practice kicking.

Bethune said she understands the plight of those who have to overcome adversity. Her gray pants hide a special pair of rubber tights that she must wear to keep her legs from swelling. She suffers from an illness called lymphedema, a malady of the lymph glands.

It takes her 50 minutes to put on the tights that offer support many times the strength of a girdle. Without the pressure from the tights, her legs swell beyond recognition. She also has had four operations on her hip, which has been completely removed and replaced with a metal socket.

Despite this, she has managed to have a successful dance career. Currently, Bethune is on hiatus from performing in “Grand Hotel” on Broadway and she also heads up her own theater dance company.

But on Friday, there wasn’t talk of limitations.

Parading around the room, Steve followed Bethune as the other dancers made a circle. Relishing being the center of attention, he carefully placed one foot in the air as he pretended to be a human statute.

Afterward, asked why he liked dance class, Steve said smiling, “Because it is fun.”