Dispersing energy

Studio offers classes to 'differently abled,' autistic children

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Upon entering the Threshold Dance Theater one can sense that something is different.

It may be because there are no mirrors covering the walls of the studio, it may be because the theater is a nonprofit organization, or it may because the founders were recently nursing two baby hummingbirds that fell out of a nest in their yard.

"Mirrors take you outside of yourself," said Petrina Olson, artistic director and founder of the theater at 4780 W. Harmon Ave., Suite 10.

The most unique aspect of the studio is that it offers classes for autistic and "differently abled" children.

Olson and her husband, Mark, the theater's business director, have a 10-year-old daughter who is autistic, a developmental disability that generally emerges during the first three years of a child's life. The disease, a product of a neurological disorder, affects the functioning of the brain, most notably affecting the development of communication skills and social interaction.

"I was doing some research and my daughter started responding to the movements," Olson said.

Olson is a certified health fitness instructor and a Reiki and Thai massage practitioner, and she is trained in a variety of forms of dance, including several modern and ethnic dances, ballet, as well as the Halprin Life/Art Expressive therapy process. But it was through the use of Laban/Bartenieff movement fundamentals that Olson saw her daughter become positively stimulated.

The Laban/Bartenieff movement fundamentals involves a progression of body movements, exercises and principles that follows a specific theoretical approach to movement. By incorporating these with her daughter for about 45 minutes, Olson said she saw its positive impact.

"She was more alert and she was very responsive," she said.

Olson's husband also provided a few examples of how some autistic children's brains, specifically his daughter's, develop differently from other children's. For example, the Olsons said they have noticed that their daughter has difficulties with cross-over patterns. When playing patty cake with alternate hands, having her pat her right hand to the other participant's right hands takes some concentration. Just as when she approaches a bicycle, Mark said she grips the handlebars with her hands, but an impediment occurs when the time comes to swing one of her legs over the bicycle to be able to sit.

"Like that, getting on a bike, these things seem very simple, but they have a huge impact on children who are differently abled," he said.

The Olsons like using the term "differently abled" because they said they feel everyone is abled, but to what extent they are abled varies.

"We want this to be fun for the children, because at the end of the day, it can't be a workout," Mark said. "The parents and children need to be able to take this home with them."

Diane Butler is the secretary and parent adviser for Families for Effective Treatment of Autism of Southern Nevada, www.featsonv.org, and said she is thrilled the Olsons added another after-school activity readily available for autistic children in the valley to participate in.

"There is a major lack of activities that autistic children can participate in," said Butler, who also has an autistic daughter. "We probably just have about two or three real options, to where the people working with the children know how to work with them, what to expect, and how to explain things."

Mark said that Petrina and himself have become familiar with what it must be like inside their daughter's head, and that helps Petrina to work with other autistic children.

"You can understand. You look into their eyes and relate to them. You can get it," Petrina said. "Having physical disabilities is no reason why a person can't be expressive and creative."

Petrina has been dancing for most of her life, and after moving to the valley from San Francisco five years ago, she decided to go back to school to earn a degree in dance since she has had a lifelong ardor for the art. And that's just what she did. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in dance arts from UNLV in 2004. A little more than a year later, the dance theater was opened by the Olsons.

"I think what she (Petrina) is doing is commendable," Butler said. "I'm excited and I think she should be encouraged. I think most importantly, that parents should know that they don't have to watch their children slowly slip away. I hope they walk away with the idea that there is help."

Threshold Dance Theater also serves as a professional dance theater. A variety of classes are offered each week for $15 per session, and for $10 per class for students with a valid ID from any of the local higher education institutes. The studio also accepts acumen funds -- dispensed through the Desert Regional Center, mhds.state.nv.us/drc/ -- from families that have children with developmental disabilities.

For further information on the theater, visit www.thresholddance.org.