Unique Waterloo dance program hoping to bounce back from pandemic hit

A program at Wilfrid Laurier University is teaching adults living with developmental disabilities how to dance.

The program, called Feel the Beat, puts on a showcase every year for the university community.

“I like to dance and see my friends,” said Kali Kay who joined the program 12 years ago.

“My favourite part is the hip hop dancers all feel the beat,” said another participant Ren Franklin.

The program hit a roadblock when the pandemic started. In-person rehearsals were cancelled and the group had to switch to online.

“Zoom always comes with challenges,” said dance instructor Lily Blyth. “Sometimes people’s Wi-Fi isn’t working or it lags, so it’s hard to keep the music up to the beat and everyone hearing it at the same time. So that definitely has been a challenge.”

As a result, a significant number of participants left the program. Blyth said before COVID-19, the program had roughly 15 participants. However, this years only three returned.

Blyth and her fellow instructors are now aiming to grow the program back to its pre-pandemic levels. They have been encouraging participants to spread the word through other community groups, and are calling past participants to rejoin.

“Feel the Beat is an amazing program and community where we can share our love of dance. We’re really hoping we can get the program back to what it was,” said Blyth.

“Feel the Beat is my favourite,” said Kay. “And I want to see [my friends and instructors] again.”