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Carole Ehlinger and The "Our Chance to Dance" program have been honored with a
Garden State
Seeds of Hope Award
from New Jersey Monthly

Congratulations, Carole!
Thanks for your dedication.

By MICHELLE GLADDEN
STAFF WRITER

Fourteen-year-old Matthew Lane stood nervously at the side of the stage. Every few moments his eyes met those of his mother, and then he would smile.

Soon the music began.

Then the curtain opened.

Lane, a Hazlet resident who has been diagnosed with autism, carefully crossed the stage to escort some of the female performers off to the side as television theme songs played the background.
After a brief dance skit that included a few twirls and bows, he was finished — for the time being.

"Good job, Matthew," his 2-year-old cousin, Madison Mahoney of Staten Island, N.Y., screamed out.

Matthew was one of more than 30 people age 3 to 21 to per­form in the Family Resource Associates dance program, Our Chance to Dance.

The annual spring recital May 21, called "Television Entertainment," was held at Christian Brothers Academy's Henderson Theater in Middletown.

Next for Matthew came the FIT TV skit. At center stage, the dance troupe tumbled, rolled, twisted and spun. When it was Matthew's turn, he opted to crab-walk across the stage.

A slide presentation using the theme songs of "Cheers," "Happy Days," "Welcome Back, Kotter," and "The Greatest American Hero" as the backdrop highlighted each dancer's yearlong commitment to the program.

"The beauty of the program is the devotion of the volunteers and the families," director Carole Ehlinger said.

Ehlinger said she started the program 24 years ago after her daughter was diagnosed with Down syndrome. "When she was born, the physical therapist was doing positions with her that were very much like dance moves," she said of her daughter Catherine.  "That's when we put the idea for the program together."

Now close to 25 volunteers work with the dancers on Satur­days from October to May, Eh­linger said.

Volunteer Stephanie Bean, 17, a senior at Red Bank Catholic High School, said she'll miss the weekly classes.

"I've been volunteering for six years," Bean said after the performance. "When you see what the families and the kids deal with every day and what they are able to overcome, it helps you put your life in perspective."

She said she's most impressed with the hard work and dedication that the students put forth.

"There was a tremendous amount involved to get this show to the stage," agreed Bean's grandfather, Joe Jurgielewicz of Hamburg, Pa.

But 12-year-old Stephen Guericio of Middletown sees his participation in the troupe only as fun.
"He's been dancing for a few years now," said his mother, Laura Napoli. "He really looks forward to spending the time with his peers. And because he's so active, the (dance) movements calm him down."

At the end of the show, as a thank-you to Ehlinger and her assistant dance instructor, Penny Sanservino, the kids formed a human sculpture that spelled out "THANKS."

"The perk really is the wonderful people we meet and give assistance (to)," Sanservino said.