Sports

Michigan paralympian works to make ballroom dancing to be accessible for everyone

Michigan Public | By Stateside Staff

Published June 20, 2018 at 3:34 PM EDT

Cheryl Angellili at a para dance competition

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After retiring from swimming, Angelelli said she had a "huge void" in her life. She filled it with Para Dance, and now she's working to spread the sport across the Americas.

Courtesy of Charles Pleiness

Cheryl Angelelli at a para dance competition

2 of 3

After retiring from swimming, Angelelli said she had a "huge void" in her life. She filled it with Para Dance, and now she's working to spread the sport across the Americas.

Courtesy of Charles Pleiness

Cheryl Angelelli displaying her Paralympic medals for swimming

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After retiring from swimming, Angelelli said she had a "huge void" in her life. She filled it with Para Dance, and now she's working to spread the sport across the Americas.

Courtesy of Charles Pleiness

Do not let a spinal cord injury get in the way of achieving your goals.

For Cheryl Angelelli, that meant expressing herself through ballroom dancing. Now, she is leading the growth of Para Dance in this country by helping others who live with physical impairment discover the sport.

Coming up this weekend, the first introductory course in teaching Para Dance to be held in the Americas will take place at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Bloomfield Hills, where Angelelli trains.

Angelelli, a four-time Paralympian in swimming and a Para Dance champion, and Evan Mountain, the owner of the studio, joined Stateside to talk about the training and the sport.

Click here to learn more about the studio's dance mobility program, and click here to see a video from a competition.

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