Oklahoma City — An Oklahoma City nonprofit dance studio that blends students of different abilities under one roof will stage a student showcase at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum later this month, highlighting its approach to inclusive instruction and community building.
Performance aims beyond technique
Aspiring Attitudes, founded and led by Shannon Wrights, operates as an integrated program that serves dancers with a range of physical and cognitive abilities alongside students who are typically developing. The studio’s upcoming performance on Saturday, Aug. 22, begins at 5 p.m. and will present routines developed in regular class settings.
Organizers say the showcase is intended to be more than a recital of choreography. It is a public demonstration of progress, confidence-building and social connection cultivated through rehearsals and performances.
“We like to think of ourselves as an integrated dance studio in that we are not a studio for special needs that includes typical students, and we are not a studio for typical students that includes special needs students. But we are all one big family learning and dancing together.”
Local impact and personal progress
Wrights singled out one student, Devlin Burnett, as an example of the studio’s progress model. When Devlin joined, staff said he arrived with high enthusiasm and has since demonstrated measurable improvements in coordination and ability to follow directions. Organizers noted he now dances in a class where there are two of them, reflecting both skill development and integration into group lessons.
Those improvements, studio leaders say, are the kind of outcomes that matter to families and caregivers: enhanced motor skills, increased comfort in group settings and the joy of performing on stage. For Aspiring Attitudes, those gains are as important as technique.
Event details and support
The showcase will be held at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum starting at 5 p.m. Aug. 22. Organizers reported that only a limited number of tickets remain. For residents unable to attend, the studio also accepts donations to support its nonprofit mission of creating inclusive opportunities for dance and performance.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Organization | Aspiring Attitudes |
| Founder | Shannon Wrights |
| Event | Student showcase at National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum |
| Date & time | Saturday, Aug. 22 – 5 p.m. |
| Notes | Limited tickets; donations accepted |
Why inclusion matters locally
For Oklahoma City, programs like Aspiring Attitudes fill a niche in the city’s cultural and social-services landscape by offering inclusive arts education that intentionally blends students with and without disabilities. Such programs can be important community partners: they expand access to the arts, create social opportunities for participants, and invite broader audiences to consider how performance spaces can be welcoming to all.
As the studio prepares to bring its students onto a prominent local stage, families and advocates will be watching to see how the public event reflects the studio’s stated goals of equal participation and mutual learning. The showcase also gives donors, volunteers and arts patrons a chance to see firsthand how integrated instruction operates in practice.
Details on tickets and donations were provided by studio organizers; anyone planning to attend should confirm availability in advance because only a few tickets remain, according to the studio.
- What: Aspiring Attitudes student showcase
- When: Saturday, Aug. 22, 5 p.m.
- Where: National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City
The performance is an example of how local arts organizations are adapting programming to be more inclusive, placing Oklahoma City among communities expanding access to cultural participation for people of all abilities.
