The girl who tried 'Wolf'
6-year-old overcomes handicap, will take part in ballet co. production
BY JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer

Khristina Criqui, 6, of North Brunswick, has cerebral palsy, but that will not stop her from performing this weekend in "Peter and the Wolf" with the Roxey Ballet in Flemington.

NORTH BRUNSWICK - Khristina Criqui can swim by herself. She uses "magic swimmies" underwater. She likes to go to her grandmother's house and play with the dogs and play with her grandfather like Bam-Bam from "The Flintstones." At home, she likes to play with her half-shepherd, half-Doberman mix, Phoebe, and cuddle with her dad. On Sundays she attends church, singing and dancing and praising for the congregation.

What sets Khristina's actions apart is her ability to overcome the cerebral palsy she has been afflicted with since she was a year old.

The 6-year-old North Brunswick resident has dreams of being a ballerina. She saw her sister, Ashley, dance on stage at a recital last year and pointed to the stage, saying she wanted to be just like her 14-year-old sibling.

"I saw this movie of ballet and [thought] it would be fun. And I did this for Grandma. I want to be a dancer just like Clara. I did this for my sister, too, because she's a dancer," the Judd Elementary first-grader said.

She has attended the Mill Ballet School of the Roxey Ballet in Lambertville since around September. She performed as a party girl in "The Nutcracker" during Thanksgiving and will be the "Garden Gate" in this weekend's performance of "Peter and the Wolf."

Khristina is not confined to a wheelchair but can crawl or use a walker with a harness as needed. She is able to therefore pursue her dream of dancing, using her arms to do what her feet can't.

"I go in my wheelchair and I just do my arm movements," she said. "It's pretty fun. I like when I do my arm movements."

The Roxey Ballet is not a school for handicapped children but instead caters to the needs of all of its performers. Unable to find a local school that would work with Khristina, her family decided to travel the one-hour distance, with her grandmother, Diane Van Pelt, sometimes spending 12 hours in the town between class, lunch, shopping at Peddler's Village, conversing with strangers, and rehearsal.

"They teach her to her ability. It's not just having her come and sit," Van Pelt said. "We're hoping she will get to the point where she can start dancing in her walker or crutches."

In addition, Khristina is on the Pop Warner Indians cheerleader squad. She will be going into her second season this fall, participating with the regular team if the Challenge Cheer team does not gain enough interest. Confined to her wheelchair during the flag football games, she uses her arms again to cheer and sometimes jumps in her seat, all the while singing the entirety of each lengthy cheer.

To strengthen herself, in hopes of one day being able to walk without assistance, Khristina attends physical therapy sessions and walks on a treadmill.

"I want to be a bride someday. I want to be a flower girl. All I want to do is walk," she said.

She has already surprised her parents by climbing out of her bed on her own and crawling into their bedroom, waking them up in the morning.

"There are no inhibitions, no stopping her," her father, Rick, said. "She's a positive influence and we encourage her - her personality and her spirit, she doesn't take no for an answer; she's very happy and very content."

"She just wants to go. She wants to do things. She's very good. She's a very well-spoken child, very determined. Even as a baby she was determined to fight," her mother, Janice, said.

To children who may be scared of trying new things or to parents who are hesitant about involving their disabled children, Khristina says, "You can do it, you can do it, you can do it. That's what I would say."

Her father added, "Children that are handicapped, a lot of parents don't consider [physical activities]. If they know a lot more things are out there and encourage it … you have a better chance of overcoming these things."

"Peter and the Wolf" will be performed on April 28 and 29 at 2 p.m. at the J.P. Case Theatre in Flemington. For ticket information call (609) 397-7616, ext. 807, or visit www.roxeyballet.org.