Staff Members Mary Verdi-Fletcher, President/Founding Artistic Director G. Michael Bargas, Operations & Marketing Manager Rebecca Burcher, Assistant School Coordinator Kelly Clymer, Social Media Coordinator Rebecca Fleisher, Administrative Assistant Dana A. Kuhn, Manager of Development & Communications Catherine Meredith, Rehearsal Director Emma Parker, School Coordinator Sara Lawrence-Sucato, Tour Manager Company Members Colin Bolthouse, Kelly Clymer, Tanya Ewell, Rebecca Fleisher, Kristin Knabel, Kevin Marr II, William MacNeil, Emily Schwarting, Sara Lawrence-Sucato, Demarco Sleeper, Mary Verdi-Fletcher, Ja’Vaughn White, Lianne Zydowicz Board Members Suzanne M. Joseph, Chair Bob Marx Meredith L. King, Vice Chair Brian Pritchard Stephen H. Spaeth, Treasurer Janice McCullough Ridgeway David S. Lockman, Secretary Mickie McGraw Kerry M. Agins Mary Verdi-Fletcher, Wendy Campbell President/Founding Artistic Director The Organization The Donna L. Flynt John Voso, Jr. Stacy Gay John Wright Thomas P. Gilligan Advisory Board Member Maria Jukic Kevin Rhodes Brian J. Jungeberg Kevin M. Kuhn Emeritus Karen Lazar William Dorsky Rabbi Michael A. Oppenheimer Teachers from the School of Dancing Wheels Mary Verdi-Fletcher, Emma Parker, Kelly Clymer, Brittany Kaplan, Gabriella Martinez, Sara Lawerence-Sucato, Kevin Marr, Catherine Meredith, Demarco Sleeper, Shannon Sterne, Lianne Zydowicz The Chair of the Board the of Chair The Dear Friends, The year 2016 marks the 35th anniversary of Dancing Wheels Company & School. During these years, the Company and School has served over five million children and adults with and without disabilities. This past year the energy and commitment continued as our dedicated staff and inspiring leader, Mary Verdi Fletcher, brought the art of dance to students and audiences throughout the Cleveland area and beyond. After 35 years we looked back with joy as so many gathered on May 14th for the grand celebration of “35 & Stayin’ Alive” at Windows on the River. This event brought family, friends, artists and all our supporters together to recognize the inspired vision and leadership of Dancing Wheels founder and artistic director, Mary Verdi-Fletcher, the talent and energy of our dancers, and the many choreographers that created amazing expressions of dance over the years! The Dancing Wheels Company is recognized as the first professional dance company in America to pioneer the integration of dancers with and without disabilities, and this year we launched the process of being recognized as the World Center for Integrated Dance and Arts Access. After much hard work by our dedicated staff and with the support of the Cleveland Foundation, we unveiled our new logo, strengthened our marketing materials, and improved our website. As exciting as the past year has been, in the upcoming year, we will continue to implement board development initiatives while creating more sustainable corporate partnerships in our local and international communities. Foundation and government support remains critical for the arts, and we will continue to cultivate both old and new relationships with the hopes of sustaining current levels of contributions. We have several new initiatives in development that will broaden our audiences, increase our earned revenue, and solidify our reputation as the World Center for Integrated Dance Access. We are committed to continuing the legacy of the past 35 years and to focusing the passion of our organization to provide the artistic quality and compelling message of inclusion that Dancing Wheels exemplifies. Suzanne Joseph Chairperson, Board of Trustees, Dancing Wheels Dear Friends: The 2015/2016 season is one that we will not soon forget. Being our 35th anniversary season and the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, we experienced events and memories that will last a lifetime. We created six new works (all world premieres) right here in Greater Cleveland, we collaborated with incredible artists, we launched our new branding image, and yes of course, celebrated like it was 1980! We began the season with a “Best of Accessible Cleveland” ADA luncheon in conjunction with the InterContinental Hotel. It was an amazing experience for us to host our keynote speaker Judith Heumann, an incredible advocate and an old friend of mine who works for the federal government in international affairs as it relates to persons with disabilities. Our media host Monica Robbins, a passionate and knowledgeable emcee, graciously brought the program full circle. This event was followed by ADA Cleveland’s daylong event with over 35 disability service organizations and hundreds of participants at University Circle. We were proud to perform with both the Company and the kids enrolled in our summer camp. I was also privileged to give an address recapping the societal environment prior to the passage of the ADA. October was truly unbelievable!! We created an “Arts for All Parade” and gathering at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to launch our new branding as the World Center for Integrated Dance & Arts Access. As if that wasn’t enough, we celebrated the ADA with the “Lasting Legacy Concert & Tour” featuring newly created works from Mark Tomasic, Catherine Meredith, Sara Swenson, and Heidi Latsky, and restaged works from David Rousseve and Dianne McIntryre. The concert, held at the illustrious Allen Theatre at Playhouse Square, was an evening filled with passion, artistry-- even humor. Mark Tomasic toasted the year and all that has been accomplished over the past 35. The weeks that followed included many tours of the “Lasting Legacy Concert” and even a flash mob at Public Hall to celebrate Cleveland’s Disability Awareness Day. November brought about one of those marvelous experiences that doesn’t often come our way. In celebration once again of the ADA and our 35th anniversary, Dancing Wheels was commissioned by the Canton Symphony Orchestra to create a new dance work to an original score and to perform it together at their home in Canton. Choreographer Robert Wesner created the new work entitled “Lightfall” and it joyously all came together with artistry and passion from the more than 100 artists involved. Founding Artistic Director Artistic Founding Our seasons never skip a beat when it comes to touring. Our wheels are always in motion with 14 Company / members and we have even achieved three performances in three different cities all at the same time. We take pride in our ability to bring our performances to the masses and appeal to a very wide range of audiences in venues across America. From guest appearances, full mainstage performances, and corporate events, we have entertained more than 5 million audience members since our inception in 1980. Between the touring, we once again hosted our “Night at the Races” event in February which achieved record highs in attendance and fundraising-- thanks to all of our fun fans who supported this annual event! In the spring our tours continued throughout the nation, but came back home for a warm and welcoming performance for Chagrin Arts in Chagrin Falls. The School of Dancing Wheels’ expansive residencies and classes kept our teachers busier than ever, taking on new schools and expanding our teacher training. We successfully conducted our first 2-day/3-session teacher training in conjunction with Cleveland State University’s dance department. Interested participants came from around the State and outside of Ohio to learn and grow in the methodologies of physically integrated dance. The celebrations for 35th anniversary season concluded in rare form when the “35 & Stayin Alive” theme brought energy and synergy to the Nautica Complex! The night was filled with gaming, an outstanding silent auction that generated a record-high in donations, a fast and furious dance performance by the Company & School (intertwined with messages from the choreographers who created the dances), and a light show that not only lit up the space but all 20 cakes atop each table. Party goers danced the night away to the fabulous The President sound of Kyle Primus and the K Street Band. It was a huge undertaking, but with the support of our board members, table hosts, events committee members, staff and dancers, I can truly say that it will be one of those events that you wonder how it can be topped. Our supporters keep saying it was the “best ever”! In the spirit of onward and upward thinking, this coming season brings us the world premiere performance of “Labyrinth” at Cain Park on August 12, choreographed by our very own Dezare Foster. There will be the return of “The Snowman”, both on tour to Toledo and at home at the Saint Ignatius Breen Center from December 1-3. We will be unveiling virtual dance classes, a unique improvisational chamber concert with two inventive musicians, another fun-filled “Night at the Races”, and a spring fling that will keep us “Forever Young.” We love bringing new and innovative performances to our audiences, we thrive on making our events “the best ever!”, we look for new ideas and discoveries from those of you who have wide and diverse experiences, and we never take for granted the true dedication and ongoing support from all of you who believe that we can achieve. Achieve through our artistry, our desire to educate and inspire, and our ability to rise to great heights for more than three decades. We became the World Center for Integrated Dance & Art Access this year and in doing so, we have opened the doors of possibilities globally to throngs of people with and without disabilities and are truly at the cusp of changing the face of equality in the arts for millions throughout the world. With true appreciation and devotion to our quest of arts for all, Mary Verdi-Fletcher President/Founding Artistic Director Mary Verdi-Fletcher, America’s first professional wheelchair dancer, founded The Dancing Wheels Company in 1980 in Cleveland, Ohio. Having been born with spina bifida, Mary wanted to open the doors of opportunity for people with disabilities who wanted to pursue their goals on an equal ground with their non-disabled peers.