Dancing Wheels Company & School

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. Mary always wanted to be a professional dancer and was not going to let her disability stand in her way. The Dancing Wheels Company was formed to employ professionally trained dancers, with and without disabilities. Forty years ago, this concept was uncharted territory in the world of dance, but Mary’s passion and perseverance has revolutionized the idea of dance and the notion of who should or could participate. The Dancing Wheels Company is America’s first and foremost professional physically integrated company, with a composition of professional stand-up and sit-down dancers, and branded as the World Center for Integrated Dance & Arts Access. The company tours globally to more than 50 cities, presenting innovative works from nationally acclaimed choreographers to audiences of or more in a typical year. The School of Dancing Wheels, established in 1990, is the only multi-arts school in Ohio focused on inclusive classes. The School offers dance, movement, and theater classes for children and adults with and without disabilities in the greater Cleveland community and throughout America. The School of Dancing Wheels’ inclusive arts programming typically reaches over children and adults with and without disabilities and economic challenges each year.