Program takes steps in dance
Program takes steps in dance

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By Dawn Marks

Published: December 2, 2007

EDMOND — Ballet typically has nothing to do with peanut butter.

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But talk of peanut butter, flowers, princess crowns and pirate hats is essential in Robyn Pasternack's ballet class for students with Down syndrome. Pasternack, a University of Central Oklahoma ballet instructor, uses alternative techniques to help students ages 6 to 11 with Down syndrome focus and follow instructions.

During a fall class at UCO, Pasternack told students to pretend to put peanut butter on their feet to make a sandwich. Then they pushed their feet together and pulled their knees out to stretch.

"Do you like chunky or smooth?” Pasternack asked her students.

Last week, the Edmond Arts and Humanities Council awarded Pasternack a $2,000 grant for the continuation of the class, said Whitney Cheek, council treasurer. Pasternack said she'll offer the class again in January.

Pasternack said she got the idea for the class through working with her 8-year-old daughter, Haley Connors, who has Down syndrome. Typical ballet classes have a specific structure that often won't work for students with Down syndrome, who can't listen to long explanations about positions, she said.

Adapting the class

Haley could follow her mother's instructions at home, so Pasternack started a class last summer.

"As a ballet teacher, I knew I wanted my daughter to take ballet. Any school I put her in, she just wouldn't participate,” Pasternack said. "You have to adapt the class so that they understand. We use a lot of props to demonstrate because their attention span is not long,” she said.

Students might get to wear princess crowns so they'll stand up straight or get stickers after a series of positions, she said.

"We've progressed quite a bit,” she said. "They slowly start to pick up a little bit.”

Dancers used watering cans to water the "seeds,” portrayed by other dancers. The "seeds” then spun gracefully out of sitting positions to become "plants.”

The class activities help students with Down syndrome learn, said Tami Arambula, mother of 10-year-old Marlee Arambula, one of Pasternack's students. Marlee, who is athletic, started the class last summer. It has helped her focus, which is always a challenge, her mother said.

"It helps to be with a group and having to be in line and not doing exactly what they want,” Arambula said. "She craves schedule.”

"I did notice her practice out in the driveway,” Arambula said. "I said, ‘Marlee what are you doing?' She said, ‘My dance.'”

Seeing the progress of students such as Marlee was one of the best parts of helping with the class, said Holly Walk, 21, a dance major from Yukon. As part of their practicum, some university dance students assist Pasternack.

"You could really see how it helped them and made it more fun,” Walk said. "It was cool when they were like, ‘I don't want your help.'”

"It helps to be with a group and having to be in line and not doing exactly what they want.”

Tami Arambula

Related Topics: Health and Fitness, Medicine, Down Syndrome