Learning to dance....... while rocking their extra chromosome

Enjoy this wonderful love story..........

Couple with Down syndrome learns the art of dance

By Eve Samples

HOBIE HILER/SPECIAL TO TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS Aaron Coleman, 26, of Hobe Sound smiles as he holds hands with Krystal Sims, 26, of Stuart as they begin to practice their dance routine in front of their dance instructor Travis Scott at the Fred Astaire Franchised Dance Studio in Stuart on Tuesday

"You have to feel the beat," Aaron Coleman tells me.

The 26-year-old is leaning back on a leather couch at Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Stuart, waiting for his lesson to begin.

A month after he started learning ballroom dance, he sounds like an old pro.

Aaron scans a catalog of dance shoes while his girlfriend, Krystal Sims, tries on a dress for their upcoming stage debut.

Actually, Krystal is more than his girlfriend now.

At the end of dance practice two weeks ago, Aaron popped the question. Krystal said yes, just as she had when Aaron proposed a couple of weeks earlier.

He keeps asking her, and her answer is always the same.

"She'll blush in the face and everything, every time," says Aaron's mother, Sandy Coleman.

Both of them are in love, clearly.

And both of them have Down syndrome, a genetic condition that interferes with development of the body and brain.

Aaron, who lives in Hobe Sound, loves music. Broadway musicals are one of his passions. When I ask him to name his favorite, he rattles off several — then lands on "Little Shop of Horrors" and "RENT."

He's also a big Michael Jackson fan.

"You should see his moonwalk," Aaron's dance instructor, Travis Scott, says.

Travis has been working with Aaron and Krystal twice a week since mid-July, choreographing a modified rumba to Garth Brook's song "The Dance." They will perform it Sept. 8 at the Fred Astaire studio.

The event is a kickoff fundraiser for the Treasure Coast Down Syndrome Awareness Group's fifth annual Buddy Walk, scheduled for Oct. 13 at Indian RiverSide Park in Jensen Beach.

The goal for the walk is to raise $15,000, says Sandy, who is president of the nonprofit awareness group. The money would go toward a library and a book club for locals with Down syndrome.

"Because what happens is when these guys graduate from high school, they get lost," she says.

People with Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities are allowed to stay in high school through age 22. After that, educational programs are scarce.

That's particularly frustrating since so many people with Down syndrome have a thirst for knowledge and a creative spirit. They also tend to be very kind.

Aaron is a perpetual joker and a stealthy tickler. Several times during his Tuesday dance practice, he came after Travis with his arms outstretched.

He also planted several gentle kisses on Krystal's forehead as they danced.

"To me, they are here for a reason. They are a special population," Sandy says. "They bring compassion to us ... a lot of love."

In 2006, Sandy and Aaron cofounded a self-advocacy group for people with developmental disabilities called Stand Up for Independence. Aaron and others in the group travel to Tallahassee and around the country to speak to lawmakers on issues that matter to them.

Sandy launched the group because she needed support.

"It's other moms that pull you up out of that slump (and say), 'It's not all that bad,'" Sandy tells me.

And Aaron, who graduated from high school in 2005, needed friends.

After Sept. 8 and Oct. 13, Aaron and Krystal will have another date to focus on.

They plan to marry on Feb. 14, 2021.

That leaves plenty of time to perfect their first dance as husband and wife.

Eve Samples is a columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers. This column reflects her opinion. Contact her at 772-221-4217 or eve.samples@scripps.com.

Be gentle.