Saucy, spunky and full of energy.
Just ask her mother Amber – 14 year-old Trinity Boyd is a typical teenager. She loves to hang out with friends, listen to music, watch her favourite programs and dance like nobody is watching.
Unlike many of her fellow Grade 7 Mitford classmates, Trinity has something they don’t – an extra chromosome.
But as inclusivity would have it, Trinity flourishes in all aspects of her social life as a child with Down syndrome. And that includes dance.
“For us, we knew Trinity loved to dance from a young age … in her first couple of years of dance she had an aide to help her learn the steps and routines, but now she’s determined to join the class independently,” explained mom Amber.
“We’ve seen her confidence soar from her involvement in dance. She loves practising routines at home and dressing up in fancy costumes for competition days.”
Confidence indeed. Just ask Trinity to showcase part of a routine and she will unabashedly jump up in the middle of a coffee shop and bust out a few neatly choreographed moves.
When asking Trinity about her love of dance, she is eager to repeat words like “fun,” “friends,” “good teacher” and “stage” – clearly revealing her enthusiasm for her twice-weekly practices at Eurhythmics Dance Studio in Cochrane, where the family moved to from Calgary in 2014.
Trinity has danced at the local studio since 2016. Before that, she danced in Calgary for the Chickadee Children’s Dance Project from 2012-2015 and in the recreational dance program at Mount Royal University in the fall of 2015. She has also done several years of gymnastics in Cochrane.
Fellow dance mom Lucy Lovelock is a big Trinity fan.
“I love watching Trinity dance and seeing that she is treated as an equal member of the class by all. I appreciate the inclusivity of our studio and how everyone gets the chance to perform with their friends,” said Lovelock.
Tina Shields, brags that she has “the best job in the school” as Trinity’s aid.
“She loves to dance, she loves to have fun and she loves to laugh … and she loves to play tricks on people,” Shields said with a laugh. “She’s so awesome. She makes me laugh out loud every day and teaches you to appreciate everything around you.”
Jodi Aasen of Eurhythmics said Trinity is a clear example of how inclusivity in dance and sports in general is important, as it teaches children to work with one another.
“Trinity is a wonderful student who clearly loves to dance. I feel that we can all learn from students regardless of their age and ability,” said Aasen.
“By having her in class, her fellow dancers learn different ways to work together, help each other and most of all respect each other. It brings such joy to all those that get the opportunity to watch these children work together.”
Aasen said she has worked with children with a range of developmental disabilities over the years. Feeling there is a lack of extracurricular activities for children with special needs in the community, Aasen was inspired to become a certified instructor to apply evidence-based therapeutic practices to achieve development goals. She became a Rhythm Works Certified instructor in 2016.
Amber and husband, Bill, credit her daughter’s school and dance champions as being powerful forces of change for bettering Trinity’s day-to-day life, such as her speech and learning abilities.
“There’s a difference between putting a child with disabilities in a room and then making it work,” explained Amber, tipping her hat to the Eurhythmics team.
Trinity has also launched a family trend, as little brother Braedon is also a dancer. The nine-year-old is in the intensive training program with the School of Alberta Ballet, as a ballet, jazz and modern dancer.
He has had roles in the last two seasons of The Nutcracker at the Jubilee Auditorium and has a role in the upcoming Sleeping Beauty production, put on by Jeunesse Classique Ballet through the International School of Ballet.
When Amber isn’t busy at her day job she spends her time in between dance practices for her children weaving her next tale – as an accomplished author of juvenile fiction and a non-fiction books.
Amber is also the former executive director of Ups & Downs – The Calgary Down Syndrome Association.
