For nearly a decade, the Ayita Dance Team in Tarrant County has welcomed girls of all ages free of charge, allowing them not only to pursue their passion but to prove there are no limits that can’t be overcome. NBC 5’s Allie Spillyards is sharing their story.
On Friday evenings, the Benbrook YMCA comes alive with music in a small studio where a group of young girls move to the rhythm.
It's something that some might not think possible for a group of girls who live life on two wheels.
“They let loose, and they go have fun, and they just are being themselves,” said 14-year-old Mayli Gibson.
Gibson was born with spina bifida. But though paralyzed from the waist down, she's always loved to move.
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"Something that people don't see is that I'm just a normal person. I just can't use my legs. They think, she's so bound to her chair that she can't do anything, and I like to show them that there is another way of living, not just one,” she said.
But in a world designed for others, Gibson’s mom, Sami Gibson, said finding a place for her daughter was difficult.
“We had her in a few different classes. We had her in an able-bodied, and then we also had her in a special needs class, but we always had this vision of a full wheelchair dance class. And so we looked for one, and when we couldn't find one,” said Sami Gibson.
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So, with her own cash, no experience, and just four girls, Sami started her own.
In 2015, she launched Ayita, the Cherokee name meaning "first to dance." In the last nine years, the team's name has also come to represent a safe place for the 16 girls, ages 4 to 15, who have joined.
"When they come in here, they're not the girl in the wheelchair. They're just a little girl that wants to dance,” she said.
As of Wednesday, the YMCA provides their studio. However, to keep class free for any girl who wants to join, Ayita relies on the community.
"Living with a disability is expensive. Caring for someone with a disability can be expensive,” said Sami.
Last month, she started a GoFundMe to cover this year's costumes and recital fees.
Now in her ninth season, they’re resources that Mayli knows support much more than just a performance.
“It gives the girls a life. It gives them somewhere where they can be free and be themselves without being limited,” she said.
