Meet Katie – Spotlight Story
22-year-old Katie has attended our classes since 2021 and is a student in our Liberate Dance – Adult class in Winchester and Liberate Online. Liberate Dance is our exclusively wheelchair-based dance group, created to celebrate the freedom of movement a wheelchair brings to people with disabilities.
Katie has functional paralysis and she says, “have been a full time wheelchair user since I was 17. I’m a student at the University of Southampton studying Linguistics with a minor in French, and one day hope to become a Linguistics professor! Apart from dance and studying, I enjoy horse riding, water skiing and playing piano.”
Katie was encouraged to find a community of disabled people as a way of accepting her disability. She kindly shares with us some of her challenging experiences in other arts:
“Dance wasn’t ever something I thought I would be involved in, but I have always been very active and very musical. I have played the piano since I was about 6 and was always involved in choir programmes. When I became disabled, the experience of being in a choir changed a lot. Being the only one sitting in a room full of people standing up was an uncomfortable sensation. When I started dancing, I found a way that I could still express my musicality without feeling alienated.”
“Everyone at Move Momentum has always been incredibly welcoming and supportive, staff and students alike! I love being able to turn up and know that whatever my body decides to throw at me, I will still be able to take part, as the teachers are incredibly accommodating.”
Katie also shares:
“It’s a great way of building fitness without overloading my system. Lots of sporting activities are too high intensity for my body and cause pain and fatigue flare-ups, but not dance!”
“Being able to be active in this way not only has great physical benefits, but also provides a sense of achievement, supporting my mental wellbeing. It’s also a wonderful experience to be in a room filled with people at my eye level!”
Thank you, for sharing your story with us, Katie! We love dancing with you at Liberate Dance, and thank you, too, for being a huge part of our Liberate Dance classes.
Our Liberate studio sessions are held at Unit 12, Winnall Valley Rd, Winchester SO23 0LD on Saturdays.
- Youth (ages 7-13): 12.30-1.30pm
- Young Adult (ages 14-21): 2-3pm
- Adult (ages 21+): 3.30-4.30pm
And we have an online class, held via Zoom, on Wednesdays, 7-8pm.
Just let us know if you’d like any further information about Liberate Dance (or any of our classes) – or you can book a free taster session. We’d love to hear from you.