Moving Miracles grows as more see dance as a therapy
Business First of Buffalo - by Mark Webster Business First
Giving voice to that hidden language is one of the goals of Moving Miracles Inc. -- a nonprofit organization dedicated to opening up the world of dance and movement to Western New York's mentally, physically and emotionally challenged youth and adults.
Founded by dancer Sheila Pilc in 1998 with just four students in a borrowed 15-by-30-foot studio in Elma, Moving Miracles recently moved into a new studio of its own in Cheektowaga's Garden Village Plaza, marking a new chapter in a short but impressive success story.
"It's so funny, because I just wanted to run a small program out of my house," recalled Pilc with one of her ever-present smiles. "We have over 100 folks enrolled in the program -- children and adults. We've had a huge influx of folks from the group homes that come from all over, as well as the day rehab programs."
Changes
Many of the newer students were stuck on waiting lists to get in last year, as Pilc and her assistants tried to tango through the many tangles associated with securing a new studio.
That's when Western New York businesses and individuals stepped onto the floor as partners willing to help out.
"We had a really incredible summer, " Pilc said. "We made a plea to the public and Bella Vista Group came through with this wonderful location (a former Payless shoe store.)
Next came an unexpected dividend from the group's third annual dance recital at Orchard Park High School in June.
"A wonderful gentleman, Clem Arrison, came to the show and he made a commitment of $10,000, " Pilc said. "He came to our performance and saw the work we were doing and was very impressed with it."
Part of that windfall was used to make necessary renovations to their new studio -- enhanced by special discounts made available to them by Home Depot on remodeling materials.
"Everything just came together, " Pilc said. "It was incredible."
Other donations include legal services by the Lorenzo & Cohen law firm that allowed Moving Miracles to incorporate as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization last year, which opened the door to obtaining grants from corporate and charity heavyweights such as General Mills, Sorrento Cheese, M&T Bank, the Marks Family Foundation and the Buffalo Renaissance Foundation.
"A very tedious process; very time consuming," admits Pilc when recalling the hours of grant writing that went into securing those donations. But Pilc has the gift of keeping such trials in perspective. Consider the magnitude of difficulties faced by her students -- cerebral palsy, autism, Down's Syndrome, seizures, muscular dystrophy and cancer -- then add her own personal trials, first being forced to give up her dance career by a back injury and then facing daunting struggles to get Moving Miracles off the ground.
"The first two years I started this program, I was living at below poverty level," Pilc said. "I was a single mom, but I wanted the program to succeed, so I left a very good job downtown. I had a very decent salary, but I wanted to open the program, and I did. I literally starved the first two years. I had two good friends putting groceries on the table for me and my daughter. It was a tough time for me."
All of which makes her and the others involved in the program appreciative of how far they've come in a relatively short period of time.
The true payoffs, however, come during the dozens of classes they can now offer each week.
Opening doors
As "Who Let The Dogs Out" blares from the boombox resting on the floor of one of the two new studios, Pilc and 12-year-old Erica Bistoff sit side-by-side in chairs in front of a mirrored wall, stretching their bodies in preparation for the dance lesson ahead.
Erica's little sister, Paige, and their mother, Sharon, watch from a hallway through a one-way mirrored window on the opposite wall.
"This will be her third year here," said the elder Bistoff, who is one of the dozen members of Moving Miracles' board of directors and also served as seamstress for the June recitals. "(Erica) has sensory integration. That's her biggest disability. She can't tolerate crowds or overstimulation. (Moving Miracles) has been a godsend. She wouldn't be able to dance otherwise. In her first year here, she took to Sheila right away. Last year she did a solo. She helps with the other classes. They just really adapt to her. It's helped her self-confidence. She was interviewed on the news and she said, `I have disabilities, and I'm sure there's other kids out there that I could help.' And I thought `Wow!'"
In addition to improving physical skills, the Bistoffs and many others have discovered that the dance program has also opened new windows to socialization skills that have too often been ignored when dealing with challenged individuals such as Erica.
"The socialization is great," said Sharon Bistoff. "What it does for their self-esteem is wonderful. (Erica) gets fearful of going places, but she's never been afraid of coming here. It's a very comfortable place for her. They push her within her boundaries. She's never pushed over them. Even last year, when she tried out for a solo. She never would have done that before. Being able to do something that they otherwise wouldn't be able to do.
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