Unify – to make whole or become united

Every Thursday from 3:15-4:15, a group of students are building bridges between the classes here at East. The Unified Dance team is open to anyone.

To be unified is to make whole or become one, which means that a unified club or team is to involve everyone. Specifically when a team or club identifies as Unified, it means that not only are there students involved in it from the general studies classes, but also students who have Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Sarah McFarland, an instructor at Sonya’s Dance Studio as well as a teacher here at East, and other teachers thought up the idea of creating a Unified Dance team sometime last year. When McFarland found that she was free one of the days a week, she put it into action.

McFarland realized that the only way that the Unified Dance team would be able to happen was it if was a senior project. Senior Kylah Humphress, who McFarland instructs at Sonya’s, took up the responsibility.

“She approached me with the idea and I thought it sounded like a great opportunity and it just kind of went from there,” said Humphress.

Humphress, who says she has always loved to dance, is now leading the Unified Dance team in a routine this semester to be performed during two of the home basketball games at the end of this year.

Humphress says that after hearing her friends talk about competitively dancing at Sonya’s Dance Studio when she was ten years old, she decided to start taking classes. She now dances competitively in tap, jazz, hip-hop and lyrical. This experience will most definitely be helping her in teaching the students as the team practices for their performances.

Freshman Katie Posey, who is in one of the life skills and special education classes, says that McFarland also got her into it. Katie loves to dance. She has been dancing since her cousin started teaching her when was six years old. She says that her favorite way to dance is with games on the Xbox.

“I’m just excited to be a part of it,” said McFarland. “ I think bridging the gap between general education students and students in life skills and special education classes is a great thing.”