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Celebrating 6 years of providing dance and confidence to children with Down syndrome

The Be Beautiful Be Yourself (BBBY) dance program was launched in 2010 with only 10 students and is a partnership between Colorado Ballet, the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, and the Sie Center for Down Syndrome at Children’s Hospital Colorado. In six years the program has served over 100 children with Down syndrome and their families.

The BBBY classes are made possible by a generous grant from The Melvin & Elaine Wolf Foundation and culminate with two students being chosen to perform in the official production of the Nutcracker at the Colorado Ballet.

“You know you’ve succeeded as an instructor and as a catalyst for change when one of our students gets up in front of over 2,000 people at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in the Nutcracker,” said Gil Boggs, Artistic Director at Colorado Ballet. “You can almost feel the audience grasping that there’s a kiddo with Down syndrome on the stage nailing their role and inspiring a whole new paradigm. I am proud to put these dancers in the Nutcracker production!”

World renowned physical therapist, author of Gross Motor Skills in Children with Down Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals, and Director of Therapies at the Sie Center, Patricia C. Winders, initiated the program.

The BBBY dance classes are offered weekly, throughout the year for 25 children with Down syndrome ages 5-14 at three levels of experience. Three Colorado Ballet instructors work closely with Winders to build kinesthetic and cognitive skills through locomotor movements that incorporate shapes, rhythm and basic dance steps. Each class culminates with a showcase for approximately 175 family members and friends where students demonstrate their skills and self-confidence.

“Piper loved this class,” said parent Aimee Guildner. “In our world of school and homework and therapy, it made my heart happy to take her somewhere she was really, genuinely, excited about going. She could be herself. She could be successful. She was happy. I think that, all too often, our kids are faced with trying to be ‘good enough.’ I commend these classes for not making them feel ‘good enough’ and instead making them feel great!”

By Samantha Hyde, Colorado Ballet Director of Education

View photos of the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fall Dance Program!

DENVER (Oct. 17, 2012) – The Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome at the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora will jump-start research benefiting people with Down syndrome by presenting scientists with $1 million in grants.

The grant program is funded with money from the Anna and John J. Sie Foundation, the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, the Chancellors of the Boulder and Denver campuses and the Dean of the School of Medicine. Under the program, the Crnic Institute will award grants of up to $100,000 a year to scientists across research disciplines at the CU-Boulder and Anschutz campuses.

Dr. Tom Blumenthal, Executive Director of the Linda Crnic Institute, is optimistic about what this will do for the field. “I believe we will attract the best and brightest scientists with innovative scientific proposals,” Blumenthal said. “Most important, we expect the science will clearly benefit people with Down syndrome.”

A key criterion for applying for the Crnic grants will be attending an annual symposium with keynotes providing the latest information about research in the field of Down syndrome.

This year’s symposium is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 19, at the Anschutz campus, and about 150 people are expected to attend. The symposium will educate CU researchers about the current knowledge of the causes and properties of Down syndrome in order to spark interest in turning research in the direction of studying the most commonly occurring genetic condition, affecting one in every 691 births in the U.S. The research also will aim to improve the lives of people with Down syndrome through enhanced medical care and cognitive improvement.

Speakers at the symposium will include Blumenthal; Katheleen Gardiner and Huntington Potter of the Crnic Institute; Ben Tycko of Columbia University; Roger Reeves of Johns Hopkins University; and Nobel Laureate Tom Cech of CU-Boulder.

Scientists seeking a grant will apply by Jan. 14, 2013, with decisions and funding to be made in March 2013.

Down syndrome is the least-funded genetic condition by the National Institutes of Health despite its frequency. The Global Down Syndrome Foundation is dedicated to significantly improving the lives of people with Down syndrome through research, medical care, education and advocacy.

About the Global Down Syndrome Foundation

The Global Down Syndrome Foundation is a public nonprofit 501(c)(3) dedicated to significantly improving the lives of people with Down syndrome through research, medical care, education and advocacy. Formally established in 2009, the Foundation’s primary focus is to support the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, the first academic home in the U.S. committed to research and medical care for people with the condition. Fundraising and government advocacy that corrects the alarming disparity of national funding for people with Down syndrome is a major short-term goal. The Foundation organizes the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show — the single-largest annual fundraiser benefiting people with Down syndrome.  Programmatically, the Foundation organizes and funds many programs and conferences, including the Dare to Play Football and Cheer Camps, Global Down Syndrome Educational Series, and Global Down Syndrome Multi-Language Resource Project. The Foundation is an inclusive organization without political or religious affiliation or intention.

About the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome

The Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome is the first medical and research institute with the mission to provide the best clinical care to people with Down syndrome, and to eradicate the medical and cognitive ill effects associated with the condition. Established in 2008, the Crnic Institute is a partnership between the University of Colorado School of Medicine, the University of Colorado Boulder, and Children’s Hospital Colorado. Headquartered on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, the Crnic Institute includes the Anna and John J. Sie Center for Down Syndrome at Children’s Hospital Colorado. It partners both locally and globally to provide life-changing research and medical care for individuals with Down syndrome. The Crnic Institute is made possible by the generous support of the Anna and John J. Sie Foundation, and relies on the Global Down Syndrome Foundation for fundraising, education, awareness and government advocacy.  It is a research and medical-based organization without political or religious affiliation or intention.

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DENVER (Oct. 16, 2012) – Over $1.5 million was raised at the Global Down Syndrome Foundation’s 2012 Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show on Saturday, Oct. 13, at the Sheraton Downtown Denver Hotel to benefit the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome. The gala was sold out, with 1,200 people in attendance, including football legends Pat and Annabel Bowlen, and John and Paige Elway.

This year, the annual event honored Academy Award-winning actor Jamie Foxx and “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” TV star Luke Zimmerman with the 2012 Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Awards. Quincy Jones, the organization’s International Spokesman, presented the award to Foxx, while Foxx’s sister, DeOndra Dixon, who is the foundation’s 2011 Ambassador, presented the award to Zimmerman.

The Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show featured the foundation’s 2012 Ambassador, 6-year-old Samantha Marcia Stevens of Massachusetts, as well as 29 other guest models who happen to have Down syndrome. They strutted the runway with celebrity escorts, including actress Virginia Williams, Denver Nuggets star players Andre Iguodala and Danilo Gallinari, and Colorado Rapids forward Conor Casey. Kim Christiansen of 9News was the evening’s emcee.

British singer-songwriter Natasha Bedingfield closed out the evening with a concert that featured dancing help from the models during her chart-topping hit “Unwritten.”

The event’s live auction raised $210,000, with such exclusive offerings as Hyde Park Jewelers’ Kentucky Derby VIP package, an Indianapolis 500 experience with Buzz Calkins, and a dinner with Denver Broncos icons Pat and Annabel Bowlen, and John and Paige Elway.

The money raised at the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show provides crucial funding for research, medical care, education and advocacy benefiting people with Down syndrome. Because Down syndrome is the least-funded genetic condition by the National Institutes of Health, the research and care provided by the Linda Crnic Institute at the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, and the Anna and John J. Sie Center for Down Syndromeat Children’s Hospital Colorado rely heavily on private funding.

The Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show is the single largest annual fundraiser benefiting people with Down syndrome.

About the Global Down Syndrome Foundation

The Global Down Syndrome Foundation is a public non-profit 501(c)(3) dedicated to significantly improving the lives of people with Down syndrome through research, medical care, education and advocacy.  Formally established in 2009, the Foundation’s primary focus is to support the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, the first academic home in the US committed to research and medical care for people with the condition. Fundraising and government advocacy that corrects the alarming disparity of national funding for people with Down syndrome is a major short-term goal.  The Foundation organizes the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show – the single largest annual fundraiser benefiting people with Down syndrome.  Programmatically the Foundation organizes and funds many programs and conferences including the Dare to Play Football and Cheer Camps, Global Down Syndrome Educational Series, and Global Down Syndrome Multi-Language Resource Project.  The Foundation is an inclusive organization without political or religious affiliation or intention.

About the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome

The Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome is the first medical and research institute with the mission to provide the best clinical care to people with Down syndrome, and to eradicate the medical and cognitive ill effects associated with the condition. Established in 2008, the Crnic Institute is a partnership between the University of Colorado School of Medicine, the University of Colorado Boulder, and Children’s Hospital Colorado.  Headquartered on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, the Crnic Institute includes the Anna and John J. Sie Center for Down Syndrome at Children’s Hospital Colorado.  It partners both locally and globally to provide life-changing research and medical care for individuals with Down syndrome.  The Crnic Institute is made possible by the generous support of the Anna and John J. Sie Foundation, and relies on the Global Down Syndrome Foundation for fundraising, education, awareness and government advocacy.  It is a research and medical-based organization without political or religious affiliation or intention.

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