Michigan Ballet Director Shows Compassion To A Young Student With Down Syndrome

There is enough disturbing news reported these days so when I saw this story I thought more people need to hear about this.  It is a story about dance, a 10-year old girl, her 4-year-old sister who has Down Syndrome and a caring owner/Director of a ballet dance school in Jackson, Michigan.

The story as reported by MLive starts with a 10-year-old girl who loves dance and a 4-year-old sister who loves to do everything her older sister does.  The 10-year-old’s father enrolled her in the Grace School of Dance in Jackson, Michigan.  Since her sister was enrolled in the dance class her younger sister also wanted to be part of the class.

When they showed up for the first day of class the number of students in the classroom overwhelmed the younger sister who has Down syndrome, according to their father.  The young girls’ reaction caught the attention of Lindsay Walsh, the dance school’s owner and director, and she immediately jumped into action, she walked up to the 4-year-old and held her in her arms to comfort and calm her down.  The young girl reacted very well to that and eventually became comfortable with the number of other students in the class and joined the rest of her classmates.

Ms. Walsh stated:

Part of my job as the teacher is just to make sure all the students feel safe and excited about dancing…So anytime a student is nervous or shy – I just try to do my best to make sure everyone is safe and comfortable because this should be a good experience for everyone.

Her father was touched by the gesture and stated “I thought that was above and beyond”.  Her father is an artist and showed his appreciation for what she did by painting a beautiful mural on her building.  

This story should give a smile to your face, now spread the smile by sharing this article with as many people as you can.