Shana Jimenez’s love of dance began in kindergarten. From the moment she stood confidently on a school theater stage in a small penguin costume in front of a crowd of parents, it was clear that expression through movement would be a big part of her life.
“Hey, everyone!” Jimenez shouted, unscripted, as soon as the curtain opened. As the other students shifted around her nervously, Jimenez basked in the spotlight.
But learning to dance was not an easy journey for Jimenez, now a young adult. As an individual living with an intellectual and physical disability, she found herself frequently excluded from educational, social and extracurricular opportunities that neurotypical students can access easily. Like many other parents of young people with disabilities, Jimenez’s mother, Barbara Jimenez, was constantly fighting for Jimenez to be treated like a “normal” student. Many dance classes did not cater to children with disabilities, so her mother ended up taking her to a Zumba class at their local YMCA.
The challenges didn’t stop there. In high school, Jimenez was excited to show off her dance skills at prom but found herself excluded because it wasn’t accessible for her and other students with disabilities to attend. This exclusion from coming-of-age events is common for students with disabilities and their families, an experience that can be extremely lonely, isolating and difficult. That’s where A Night to Remember steps in.
A Night to Remember is a prom sponsored by Mission Church in Ventura for students with intellectual disabilities ages 12 to 25. Each guest is provided with their own host for the evening and everything they need for a truly memorable experience: dresses, tuxedos, make-up, flowers, limo rides, photos, a walk down the red carpet, swag bag, appetizers, desserts, and an extraordinary night of fun and dancing.
What A Night to Remember offers is an extravagant experience where students with disabilities are celebrated and put in the spotlight in a way that is safe and accessible for all. On this night, we get to watch these students shine as they participate in an experience where they can be fully themselves.
Jimenez was among over 400 students who attended A Night to Remember as honored guests in March.
“Life with a child with a disability can be challenging at times … advocacy, accommodation andadjustment is needed. With an event like A Night to Remember, that [worry] goes away,” Jimenez’s mother said as Jimenez danced beside her. “A Night to Remember gives me the feeling that the world is a more loving, kinder and gentler place to be.”
For Jimenez, dancing makes her feel happy and joyful. Jimenez’s mother said that dance also helps her daughter stay healthy and inspires others like her to be healthy as well. Exercise can be difficult for people with disabilities, but for Jimenez dancing doesn’t feel like a burden. It has allowed her to grow into her gift for movement and self-expression while staying healthy and feeling recognized.
Over the years we have seen families who have a student with a disability find community through this event. They have felt seen, loved and cared for in an extravagant way by their greater community here in Ventura County.
Today, Jimenez is a Zumba instructor. Jimenez and her mother believe that events like A Night to Remember are a fulfillment of a dream. In Jimenez’s own words, A Night to Remember lets her “cut loose” and “have fun.”
As these students left the Ventura County Fairgrounds after the event last month, carrying bags full of gifts and sweat dripping after dancing the night away, they had a sense of being seen and celebrated and an experience of unapologetic joy. It truly was a night to remember.
Taylor Hunt is the mission students director at Mission Church in Ventura, where he co-directs A Night To Remember.
Olivia Thorpe is a live-in support person for adults living with disabilities in Santa Barbara, and uses her background in public relations to advocate for the disability community.
