Dance for Inclusion: How Rita Juskyte Empowers Kids With Disabilities

Rita Juskyte, 34, never imagined herself as a dance instructor, especially for kids with disabilities. As an engineering student at university, she was still missing something in her life and wanted to explore what else is out there. Eventually, driven by projects abroad, her passions, and desires, Juskyte started a project of her own, focusing on inclusivity and empowerment of differently-abled kids. The progress of her students and Juskyte’s self-realizations are what encourage her to keep going.

“Never in my life have I danced like a person who can only move their eyes.” This is only one of the many comments Juskyte has received from the public after her dancers’ performance. Watching her students makes everybody in the public question what they know about dance or disabled people.

And if you thought dancing requires your entire body to be into it, Juskyte defies these norms. The kids who attend her dance classes don’t fit our usual image of dancers. Some are different because they are restricted in movement, and some are restricted in their cognitive abilities. However, that doesn’t stop Juskyte from exploring their creative potential and integrating them into society.

Surprisingly, that’s not what she always imagined herself doing. Juskyte was a successful university student in the field of engineering. The path promised a secure future, however, something about engineering didn’t feel right. It seemed like her “heart didn’t belong to it”. Juskyte enjoyed athletic activities, and throughout her studies kept experiencing an urge to be a coach or an athletics instructor. Eventually, encouraged by this undying wish, she tried herself out as a dance instructor for women. Somehow, she still didn’t feel fulfilled. Her mind would keep going to a topic she rarely thought about - her mom’s mental disability. One time she found out about this international project called Reach for Change, which was centered around improving the lives of children and youth. Attending one of their seminars she found out about a woman who teaches kids with Down’s syndrome dance. That’s when in her heart it all came together.

Not even two weeks from then, she pitched her idea to local organizations, attended training sessions, and started her project - dance classes for kids with disabilities. The project called Unique Dance has been growing ever since, for the past 7 years.

Most kids attending Juskyte’s classes have developmental disabilities, some of them also physical ones. That is the trickiest and most intricate part of the job. “You need to always adjust so that everyone feels involved,” says Juskyte. She tries to not concentrate on what disabilities the kids have and mentions that it is simply not important. When enrolling a new kid in the class she just asks the parents what she should know about their individual needs. This is the first step towards being inclusive yet treating people with disabilities as a usual part of society.

It’s quite obvious that a job like this would be very fulfilling, however, I still asked Juskyte what the most rewarding part was. Without a doubt she mentioned that it’s the “currency” the kids pay her back with. “At first it’s hard, they don’t want to be there, they need time to adjust, sometimes months”. However, she always tries to stay patient and encourages the parents to do the same. It is all worth the moment when the kid finally joins the class, comes up to the front and shows a dance move, or just comes to Juskyte and hugs her, showing her affection and breaking the barrier between them and the dance teacher. She describes this moment with the word “wow” and shares a heartwarming smile.

Being involved in such activities is also very helpful to the kids themselves. As Juskyte shares, they become a lot more confident in themselves, after realizing that they can create art in such forms. Additionally, as part of the dance company, kids are surrounded by a very supportive community which also aids their self-development. But still, Juskyte thinks that one of the most important parts of this project is not only to help the kids’ self-expression but also to integrate them into the wider society.

Because of the latter, Juskyte prefers performances in “normal” schools, as opposed to participating in festivals specifically for disabled individuals. “I used to think that if you had a disability you could dance, but you wouldn’t want to show yourself off. However, it’s quite the opposite. They [the kids] want to be seen”. When visiting schools or other establishments the dancers receive various reactions. Some people see disabled kids as victims, however, usually as the performance goes on, they become more interested and accepting. For some spectators, seeing the disabled kids dance helps them understand that they are not that different from the rest of the society. Juskyte shares how her son was volunteering at a disabled kids' dance camp once, and when asked he was pleasantly surprised, “how fun those disabled guys were”. As Juskyte mentions, seeing kids with disabilities believe in themselves and perform “can even help the spectators understand that it’s important to be your true self”.

Friends and family support Juskyte’s work, and she often receives compliments and surprised looks after sharing what she does. However, Juskyte stays very reserved about it. She says that at this point she is quite used to her work. Luckily helped her drastically change the way she views people with disabilities. She learned not to look at them as victims. “I used to even look at my mom from above, used to think that I am smarter than her, “ shares Juskyte. However working with disabled kids helped her understand that even with disabilities, people are very capable of taking care of themselves. Seeing her mom go through life also aided her in that: “I remember when my mom used to look for work as a nanny, “starts Juskyte. It always surprised her how her mom would not hide her disability from her employers. Next to her job, her mom was a person who broke a lot of taboos in Juskyte’s life.

All this inspires her at her job every day. She keeps reiterating to herself and others, that the most important part about working with disabled people, is not to directly help them integrate themselves into society, but to help increase their self-confidence, so they realize that they can do anything on their own. “Our whole project is not about helping disabled people <...> but about being next to them and showing them that they can do it themselves”. She also believes that one of her most important tasks is increasing awareness, therefore she wishes to do even more performances in schools and other public places, to show that disabled people exist, and show them in a context that makes them feel no less able than an average person.

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Rita Juskyte, Dance Instructor at Unique Dance, +370 623 50 438