Autistic girl with DiGeorge Syndrome memorized Coppelia Ballet!!!!!!

It takes more than a village to raise a special needs child. For more information on Clara Bergs and opportunities to provide support, see:

http://clarabergs.tumblr.com

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We knew Clara loved the Coppelia ballet, but little did we know she memorized the whole thing! She performed this solely from memory!

This is just a small snippet of her dancing to it. We would see her doing some ballet moves around the house thinking it was ballet moves she learnt in ballet class, till one day someone decided to whip out a computer and compare her moves to that of the Coppelia ballerina, and, VOILA, we realized she memorized it, and can dance it!

Clara has been diagnosed with DiGeorge Syndrome and Autism. She spent her first 16 months in hospital, has gone through multiple surgeries since she was two weeks due to the complications with her syndrome. Before she was two, we noticed that she had difficulty connecting with people, was in a world of her own, and two years later she was also diagnosed with autism. Clara also had a lot of physical complications, and could not walk till she was four. She never spoke until she was six.

Doctors told us when she was born to forget about her - we could just have another baby...but we couldn't give up. Never underestimate your child's potential!

Clara thrived in the Intensive Multi Treatment Intervention program (see http://www.jalderson.com), based in Toronto, and has blossomed into a lively dancing queen who always loves an audience!!!

Join Clara's facebook group at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Clara...

Read about Clara in the book, "Challenging the Myths of Autism" (pg 199) by Jonathan Alderson, http://www.JAlderson.com and you can get a copy at http://promo.challengethemyths.com/

Sincere thanks to the Australian Ballet Company who have allowed us to use this segment in Clara's video, specifically:

Coppélia
THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET

Featuring
Lisa Pavane - Swanilda
Colin Peasley - Dr Coppelius
Production devised and directed by George Ogilvie
Original Choreography Arthur Saint-Léon
Revised by Marius Petipa and Enrico Cecchetti
Additional Choreography Peggy van Praagh
Music Léo Delibes
Costume and set design Kristian Fredrikson
Lighting William Akers
Conductor Noel Smith
Orchestra the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra

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[ThePorkupine73]

I smiled while I was laughing *AT* the video--but I wasn't laughing at the girl, I was laughing at the people who get all emotional and cooing at a normal girl doing normal girl stuff, and calling it amazing. It's nice. But it's not amazing.

[ThePorkupine73]

Thank you for being honest.

[ThePorkupine73]

Uh...no she doesn't.

[ThePorkupine73]

Really?

[ThePorkupine73]

Ha! 

[ThePorkupine73]

Why? She's telling the truth. 

[ThePorkupine73]

This child's 'disability' is not autism.

[ThePorkupine73]

OK, it's cute, but her performance is not 'world class.' Come on. What she's doing IS 'somewhat mimicking' the dancer. That's cool--that's how we learn--but I don't think from seeing this video that she has super abilities (more than anyone else, I mean).

[ThePorkupine73]

I don't know much about dance but this seemed pretty normal to me, and with a few cuts in the video, which I saw.

[ThePorkupine73]

Because "autism" sounds cool is why they call her 'autistic' I guess.