EVE'S FIRST DANCE
Eve Dahl, 14, traveled from Wisconsin with her family and dance partner to compete at the Dance Mobility’s Adapted Ballroom Dance Competition for persons with physical disabilities at the Roeper School in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. on July 16, 2022. The event is the first adapted ballroom dance competition in the U.S. featuring dancers from across the country who use a wheelchair or prosthetic limbs.
Eve has Osteogenesis Imperfecta also known as brittle bone disease, a group of genetic disorders that result in bones that break easily. She’s been dancing for the past 9 years before discovering the Dance Mobility program and started ballroom dancing two years ago. “I’ve really never had an opportunity to dance in an environment that’s suited for somebody like me, I’ve always been dancing with able-bodied people, but I’m excited that I’m going to be able to find people who know how to direct me and adapt,” Dahl said. “It’s that kind of special environment that’s curated for you.”
Published in: NPR Picture Show
Deb Dahl does her daughter Eve's hair in their hotel room before Dance Mobility's Adapted Ballroom Dance Competition.
Eve's dance shoes and competition dresses lay out on the hotel room bed.
Deb Dahl sweeps her daughter Eve’s hair into a bun.
Eve Dahl, of Wisconsin, and her Great Dane service dog, Finn, head downstairs to get into makeup before the competition.
Eve Dahl gets her makeup done before the competition.
Paralympic medalist Cheryl Angelelli and founder of Dance Mobility's Adapted Ballroom Dance Competition dances with Tamerlan Gadirov in the competition.
Eve Dahl and Ernie Olivas during the Dance Mobility's Adapted Ballroom Dance Competition.
Robin Wooten wipes tears from her eyes during Dance Mobility's Adapted Ballroom Dance Competition. Before Wooten was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, she danced ballroom and taught her son to dance. "It's amazing," Wooten said. "I don't know them personally, but I swear they're my family because they share my same struggle. ... My tears are happy tears."
Trophies for dancers competing at the Dance Mobility’s Adapted Ballroom Dance Competition.
Coaches pump extra air into a wheelchair.
Jonathan Bowie, of Michigan, greets a friend after the competition.
Joanne McConaghie and Ann Knaggs . "I'm an above-the-knee amputee," Knaggs said, "and I always say that ballroom dancing is physical therapy, but fun." Ann and Joanne met through ballroom and became fast friends.
Jonathan Bowie, 37, of Michigan shows his medal after the Dance Mobility’s Adapted Ballroom Dance Competition.
“To be a part or history is just mind blowing,” Bowie said. “It shows that people with disabilities can do anything.”
Eve Dahl after the competition.
Zoey Spencer, 11, of Michigan danced with her dad, Neil at the competition.
Eve Dahl, 14, of Wisconsin after the Dance Mobility's Adapted Ballroom Dance Competition for persons with physical disabilities at the Roeper School, in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., on July 16, 2022.