My Name Is: Teri Westerman of Lakewood - #lakewoodnews

About me

I was born in Illinois and moved to Colorado when I was 2 years old. I grew up in Bear Valley, lived in downtown Denver and Glendale and finally moved to Lakewood.

I went to the Charles Boettcher School, and after started working for the state at 17 years old in the accounting department. I've always had a fascination with numbers.

A love of dance

I've been interested in dance since a young age, even though I've had my disability since birth. I remember watching "The Nutcracker" when I was little and wanted to learn how to do that.

I got my start in Colorado Wheelers, a wheelchair square dancing group. From there a friend told me about a more modern dance program run by Paul Fiorino out of the Ballet Arts Theater. They were one of the places that made people with disabilities feel welcome.

After school was finished, there were really no parts available for people with disabilities --; they didn't take us seriously. At the Ballet Arts Theater, everyone was invited. Paul said he saw the spirit in me was that of a dancer.

I received a contract to go to Cleveland and study there for three years, with the intention of coming back here and starting my own company. I came back to the Denver area in 2012 and said I was ready to get started. I had a space, a name (Spoke N Motion) and just five other people, and we took off from there. We've been growing ever since.

Dance on the road

I was named Ms. Wheelchair Colorado in 2000, which allowed me to go to schools and talk to students about disabilities and the challenges that come along with that.

We have our big performance every year and we travel around to perform at any place that wants us. We've been all over the place.

Spoke N Motion Dance

We do our rehearsal at the home of the Colorado Ballet, and now have 28 dancers, about a third of which have a disability of some sort. There is no audition process for us --; if you want to dance and the spirit moves you, our door is open. The only thing we don't tolerate is ego. Our team may not be classically perfect, but we connect together as a team.

Some of our dancers are choreographers who come from University of Colorado Anschutz's physical therapy program, and they're very good.

Dancing really is my passion --; it's my heart. It gets inside me and gets me excited.

For me, it's more about the company than myself. Without them, Spoke N Motion wouldn't be here.

from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/My-Name-Is-Teri-Westerman-of-Lakewood,211804