Free dance class is Sarasota woman's way to give back

Deanna Williams has always loved dancing. 

It helped her growing up in Bradenton after a neurological episode affected her speech and mobility. She says dancing helped her grow as a person and learned to never accept her physical challenges. 

“I danced as long as I could until I couldn’t,” Williams said. “The discipline is good, it teaches you to have fluidity and it builds fellowship with friends.”

That feeling has never left her, even as life has brought its own struggles. 

A series of strokes 10 years ago further affected her mobility and brought about an early retirement. 

She also has congenital heart issues and takes care of two grandaughters Amayah and Evya Theodore, one of whom has a similar heart defect. She enrolled her granddaughters in dance classes but once her husband Daniel — who suffered a series of strokes of his own — was admitted to the hospital, she could no longer afford them.

Williams knows what it is to lose things. Fortunately, she’s used that feeling to find a way to give back to others. 

The Sarasota resident recently organized and launched a free dance class program for  children with disabilities to provide the camaraderie and activity that helped her when she was young. 

The weekly classes have a handful of children learning a number of dance styles and practices from longtime dance instructor Sarah Glass at a community room at a Goodwill donation center on Honore Aveue. 

Glass leads the children in choreographed routines, athletic tumble practices and fun games to round out each lesson. 

“I want to give our community the opportunity to have dance where you don’t have to worry about the money,” Williams said. “Just show up and dance.”

Williams met her husband Daniel at a grocery store in 1993 and the two married a year later. They both went through health troubles around the same time and Williams said it was their bond that helped them get through them. 

“I was strong when he was weak, and he was strong when I was weak,” Williams said. “We always tried to help in the community, it gave us a sense of purpose.”

She started caring for her granddaughters Amayah and Evya six years ago. 6-year-old Amayah has congenital heart defects and is asthmatic, and Williams says she’s had to take her to the hospital to help with her breathing difficulties. 

Between those trips and her husband’s continued hospital visits, it wasn’t possible to pay for dance classes.  

“Things that weren’t essential were things I had to let go,” Williams said. 

There were other parents of children with disabilities she knew who had trouble paying for dance classes as well. It was during those trips that Williams started having the idea to host free classes for children.  

“I wanted to join in with the dancing,” Williams said. “That’s how it began.”

It’s one thing to have an idea though, and another to execute it. Williams spent weeks contacting summer camps, day schools and other organizations to start new dance classes, to no avail. 

Eventually she connected with Goodwill Manasota and was able to access the Honore location’s community room. Williams called a number of local schools advertising her classes to draw students — so far, there have been four to nine students each class. 

It was tough going at first. The dance program’s first instructor had to cancel shortly before the first class, so Williams had to teach the handful of students from a chair. 

“I didn’t want to lose this opportunity,” Williams said. “I didn’t want this door to close,”

Providence came through Sarah Glass, a dance instructor and competitor in ballroom and Latin dance. Glass typically teaches private lessons and competes in state competitions, but has had more time on her hands since the start of the pandemic. 

A mutual friend introduced Glass to Williams and the dance teacher decided to volunteer each week. She's been leading the class since late October. 

She teaches them posture, foot positions and other basics that lend well to any style of dance. They’ve had a good time learning cha-cha and dancing to Bruno Mars as of late. 

“(The class) is close to my heart because I started dancing when I was a little girl,” Glass said. “Everyone should have this opportunity.”

It's been a hard time for Williams, whose husband recently died after years of fighting. A continued solace, though, has been taking her granddaughters to the class each week.

Williams sits to the side and watches Amayah and Evya let go of everything and dance with their friends. It brings tears to her eyes. 

“I just want them to be children and dance,” Williams said.