'The Dancers'
By Jennifer James, Special to The LA Times
September 7, 2008
"To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful. This is power, it is glory on earth and it is yours for the taking."
-- Agnes De Mille
IT IS a chilly day in June, and Brittany Cherry and Brandon Armstrong are lunching with their moms at the Jazz Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim. A trip to Disneyland was part of their prize on "Dancing With the Stars."
Brittany and Brandon are ballroom dance champions. Both are children. You may have seen them in their most recent triumph -- they were awarded the first-place trophy in the children's category on "Dancing With the Stars" on ABC last season. Both were 13 years old. Their performances on that show were skilled, exuberant, confident, full of joy and technically perfect.
The first time Brittany saw ballroom dancers twirling around on the dance floor, she was dazzled. She knew exactly what she wanted -- she wanted to do what they were doing. She was 4 years old. Even though the youngest students of ballroom dancing usually were 10 years old, her mom said yes when Brittany insisted on lessons.
That crucial answer was the first step. What followed for Brittany was years of dedication, rehearsals and dreaming. Today, 10 years later, when asked, "Is dance everything?" She quietly nods and answers, "For me it is."
Is dance everything to Brandon? Well, no.
"I want to be a baseball player," he says. "Of course, I realize that the chances are slim. So if that doesn't work out, I'll go to Harvard Law School."
The chances are slim of becoming a dance champion too. But the odds start going in your favor when you have discipline, passion and determination. This young man has all that and more.
You see, on this particular day he is sitting in a wheelchair with his leg up. What happened? "I was running while I was playing baseball. I got a muscle strain," he says.
He had made a commitment to participate in a dance presentation with Brittany at Disneyland. Naturally, you'd think he wouldn't be able to perform. Think again. He fought through the pain and honored his commitment to dance.
Of course, the military is famous for its discipline, and Brandon comes from a military family, his dad being in the Air Force. Not surprisingly, Brandon's favorite subjects are history and science. Between dancing rehearsal and baseball practice, he doesn't have enough time to go to school dances!
Brittany's dad is a photographer, and her favorite subject is math. She has fun at dances, but when she came back from her first dance she exclaimed, "I don't know how to dance!" It was so different from the discipline of formal ballroom dancing.
Both of these kids are honor students.
And you know what else? They're kids. Brandon likes mac and cheese, Brittany likes shrimp cocktail. Brandon loves books about history, especially World War II. Brittany likes books that are romantic, like the "Twilight" series featuring vampires. Brittany is petite, sensitive and has the soul of a dancer. Brandon is strong and solid, with his feet planted firmly on the ground. So they are very different. But they have one thing in common.
When they are rehearsing for a dance presentation or contest, they are both intensely focused and competitive.
Carlene, Brandon's mom, makes all this work for her family by being organized and capable. She provides her son with unflagging support and discipline. In fact, they even help each other. Brandon provides moral support and advice to his mom about things like the diet she is on.
Brittany and her mom, Mary Jo, have a special relationship too. Mary Jo understands the yearning in her daughter to create great art in dance.
Brandon and Brittany are still kids. Their moms make sure they don't miss out on the joys of childhood. |
