Bean Gill from Alberta holds the current title of Miss Wheelchair Canada .
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Miss Wheelchair Canada
“ Disability need not be a limitation ”
The Miss Wheelchair Canada pageant showcases women ’ s beauty and inner strength forcing people to look beyond their disability . It challenges current perceptions of women who are wheelchair users and attempts to break barriers . The pageant is devoted to the motto " disability need not be a limitation ."
Wheelchair Dance Sport Association Canada , a nonprofit created in 2014 is the pageant ’ s host . They promote , develop and run Para Dance Sport and also host workshops and one-on-one lessons .
At Wheelchair Dance Sport Association Canada , ablebodied dancers ( at different levels of experience ) dance with people in wheelchairs to create Para Dance Sport couples . Able-bodied dancers can and should have both an able-bodied dance partner and a wheelchair dance partner because it gives everyone the opportunity to develop dance skills . The Association has two main messages . The the first is for able-bodied dancers : if you are getting the benefits of dancesport , share it with people in wheelchairs . The second is for wheelchair users : you too can be the best dancers possible .
Olesia Kornienko is the president of Wheelchair Dance Sport and she has been involved with professional wheelchair dancing for many years . “ I started dancing in Poland and won my first medal in 1999 . Later I won 10 more medals in other countries . My dancing experience in Canada began in September 2012 . With my former dance partner Arnold Ip , we won a gold medal at Vancouver Challenge Cup 2015 ,” Olesia said .
She treats dancing professionally , as a serious sport and believes that ballroom and Latin dancing breaks down the boundaries between worlds of people with and without disabilities . “ For me , the Para Dance Sport is a great way of rehabilitation , because it involves movements of almost the entire body ,” Olesia explained . “ Collaboration with a partner without a disability is not only achievable but also very rewarding . It promotes identity self-awareness and helps improve memory and has many other additional benefits .”
Olesia ’ s dream is to gather a group of wheelchair dancers for participation in the Opening and Closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games and her vision : “ I really want to promote Wheelchair Ballroom Dance Sport in Canada .”
The first Miss Wheelchair Canada was held in 2017 . One is planned for the Summer 2021 .
Bean Gill from Alberta holds the current title of Miss Wheelchair Canada .