Anthony Westbury: Go see this show, but bring the tissues

Every year about this time, there's a dance show at the Sunrise Theatre in Fort Pierce that really raises my spirits.

It embodies a unique partnership between professional dancers and adults with disabilities, and if there's one word that describes the performances I've been privileged to watch over the years, it's joy.

The exhilaration members of the ARC of St. Lucie County feel when they get on stage is absolutely infectious. This year's show, "Time," is a little different because of funding decisions made in Tallahassee, but it's guaranteed to still contain plenty of joy.

Since last year. ARC suffered state budget cutbacks that forced layoffs and required the organization to move to smaller premises in Fort Pierce.

Those actions prompted longtime ARC instructor and choreographer Tena Patterson to leave the organization and set up an independent dance company with her daughter, Tasha. The Wings to Fly dance company they formed integrates professional and nonprofessional dancers and singers with and without disabilities.

Some of Patterson's clients from Fort Pierce will join peers from ARC of Martin County to put on this year's show.

Tasha Patterson is the lead choreographer this year and the show is about how every moment lost to stress and worry in today's fast-paced world is a lost moment in time.

One of the dancers in "Time" has an awe-inspiring story to tell that involves losing a lot of time.

Making her dance debut, Alix Morton, 52, was once told by doctors she'd never walk again.

In 1996, she was rock-climbing in upstate New York, below a 12-year-old boy who got into trouble 65 feet up the mountain. Alix somehow reached him before he fell and managed to put him on a safe ledge.

She wasn't so lucky.

Alix slipped and said she "fell like a rag doll," flipping over and over and bouncing off rocks and trees. She suffered multiple injuries, including a traumatic brain injury. She lost all feeling in her body and her short-term memory.

A few years later she moved to Fort Lauderdale to recuperate and was still using a wheelchair when tragedy struck again. Alix was attacked and beaten so badly by three men she was left with a broken back.

Readying her for emergency surgery that would stabilize her injured spinal cord, a neurosurgeon delivered the prognosis in a matter-of-fact voice that "even with surgical repair, you will never walk again."

After six months of hospitalization and several years of outpatient therapy, Alix has proved him wrong.

One day she noticed some feeling in her right leg. Alix decided her recovery was "between God and me," and that "this is my body and these are my legs." She dragged herself out of the wheelchair and started the incredibly painful process of using her legs again.

Today, she lives in Port St. Lucie and is walking with the aid of a cane. She can garden and go to the beach, but best of all, she's dancing again.

"I still have a lot of pain, but this is something that makes me feel so free. I've loved to dance my whole life. It overrides the pain and is so exhilarating. My spirit is set free; my body catches up with me later!

"Wings to Fly has opened me up as a human being and it's not just through dance. The people there are extremely open and loving. They see the disabled differently. They understand and they are so inclusive. The 'Time' piece is remarkable and it tells the story of my injuries and recovery beautifully."

Alix mentioned another dancer, Lyndell Engler, 65, who also relishes the physical and mental freedom that dance provides. Lyndell has cerebral palsy and has danced in Patterson's shows for years.

Patterson's daughter Tara Anstensen, a physical therapist, has crafted a special harness that allows Lyndell to "fly" across the stage during a wheelchair ballet sequence.

Lyndell spreads her wings and says, "I'm free!," Patterson and Alix told me.

Despite all the changes forced on the organizers by government belt-tightening, the show will still go on, albeit with a lot of fingers being crossed.

"We're taking a bit of a leap of faith (financially) using the Sunrise," Tena Patterson said, "but the stage and the people there are wonderful."

Patterson's organization is renting the theater and proceeds from the show will go to Wings to Fly and the newly formed Brain and Spinal Injuries advocates group for the Treasure Coast, which provides education and support for individuals with traumatic brain and spinal injuries and their families.

I fully expect there won't be a dry eye in the house Saturday night.



What: "Time," a song and dance show performed by members of the Wings to Fly dance company.

When: 7 p.m. Saturday.


Tickets: $25, available at the door or by calling 772-461-4775.