[Music] I love dance.

I just love the ability you have to express yourself through movement.

Because a lot of times with me, it's hard.

I live with cerebral palsy.

And when I was in school, kids were very mean to me.

If I was coming down the hall they would call me "penguin."

It's hard for me to express my emotions, and when I'm dancing, I can really do that and feel free to do that, and not feel like I'm being judged or someone's going to say something negative to me.

My name is Heather Marie, and I am an Open Arms dancer and ambassador.

I'm Gail Chandler Hawkins, and I am a dancer with Open Arms Dance Project.

What we do is adapt.

It's okay if you can't do it quite this way, then do it this way.

So Reema and Haya, you'll come on.

We do the toes and heels...

I'm Megan Brandel, and I'm the founding artistic director of Open Arms Dance Project.

I put really ordinary people on stage doing really extraordinary things.

I take anybody in Open Arms.

They don't have to have any dance training.

They don't even have to be able to walk.

And so that really flips the script and says, "Look closer and see the beauty in these people."

I think that representation on stage is key because that is usually not centered and highlighted and spotlighted in the performing arts.

So my dad was the one who always danced with me.

He was the one with rhythm and the one I would two-step with.

He was physically losing movement one limb at a time.

And so that was really impactful to see him losing movement while I was doing movement like six days a week.

I want you to be the stars of the show.

I don't want to be the star of the show.

I became unsatisfied with adaptive dance, of you know, "This is the adaptive class and this is the normal class," and everybody being separated.

And so I thought, "Okay, inclusive is the way I want to go with this, so that we're all in there together and we all have the same goal."

[Music] I am Hava Fisherman.

I'm a dancer with Open Arms.

I never thought I could dance.

When I saw Megan, I wanted to join.

It makes me happy that I'm dancing.

My name is Alice Brown.

I am a Open Arms ambassador, and been dancing with them for four years.

I have OCD, which stands for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

I got severely bullied at my junior high school and Open Arms has been there for me a lot.

And it makes me so happy, and I don't know what I could do without Open Arms.

...in a totally new space that's different from everybody else's space.

...and sideways ...and curling in, in, in, in, in.

[Music] Just this weekend, a friend asked me, "So how was the pandemic for you?"

And I said, "Oh, it was fabulous."

You know, where, how often do you hear that?

Because the creativity was magnificent of all of the dancers.

I'll be part of Open Arms as long as somebody can get me there.

You have to actually be "Upstanders" on stage, and take care of each other.

Come forward.

Come forward.

And you're going to surround this group.

Upstanders, everybody on your feet!

"You stand up for me, I stand up for you.

We are the Upstanders!"

Freeze!

And then the show is over.

Here we go.

Ssssssss... Hhaaaaa... Voice: What is strength for you?

Megan: How do you know you're strong?

Heather: Because with my disability, I never thought I could dance.

[Music] "We are the Upstanders!

We are the Upstanders!"

"With open arms, we are the Upstanders!"

[Cheering] I thought it went really good.

How about you, Hava, did you have fun?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Everyone performing is a person, and through their joy of dance they have a message.

Thank you for enjoying the show!

So I hope that they take away our message of compassion.

Basically, all bodies are dance bodies and we're all here for one another.

And we're all here to bring joy and compassion to one another.