These little girls are the stars of their wheelchair dance class (and the stars of our hearts)
Mayli and Brooklyn have a lot in common. Even though they’re not related, they have the same last name: Gibson. They’re both from Benbrook, Texas, and were born just six months apart. They were also both diagnosed with Spina Bifida which keeps them wheelchair bound. Oh, and they both can dance like NOBODY’s business.
“They’re six months apart, same last name, same diagnosis,” Mayli’s mom, Sami Wimberly, told ABC News. “God knew these two were meant to be friends.”
Sami started a dance class and team for kids in wheelchairs called Ayita, and both girls attend. Recently, the group posted a video to Facebook of the two girls breaking it down to the Whip / Nae Nae in the kitchen. And they totally owned it. “We have frequent sleepovers and kitchen dance parties and [the day the video was shot] Brooklyn had just taught Mayli the Whip/NaeNae,” Sami explained to ABC News. “We love the song and watch the videos and thought we’d join the fun.”
The mission of Ayita, which is Cherokee for “First to Dance,” is to give kids in wheelchairs a place to dance, “where they won’t feel so different or stared at, or questioned,” Sami told ABC News. It’s a safe space and community where they can express themselves. “[Mayli] uses a wheelchair to get around,” Sami told ABC News, “and while some people may think she’s confined to her chair, her chair is actually her means of freedom and independence.”
Sami was inspired to start the group by her daughter, who has always been the raddest dancer despite her diagnosis, says Sami. “Mayli is a dancer, if there is a beat she’s moving to it,” Sami told ABC News. “It doesn’t matter the genre of music, she loves it all.”
That’s pretty clear based on the video that Ayita shared of the girls, which has been shared over 13,000 times and viewed over 575,000 times. Mayli and Brooklyn have pretty much become viral superstars overnight thanks to their super fierce moves.
Check it out for yourself, and if you want to help Sami with Ayita and its awesome cause, you can donate to the organization’s GoFundMe here. “There are many sports out there for able-bodied kids but your options are limited when you’re in a chair, especially in a rural area,” Sami writes on the GoFundMe page. “We want to change that by offering this class.”
Keep on dancing, ladies — you are natural stars.
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[Images via Facebook and GoFundMe]
