Part of the art of blogging involves revealing yourself to the masses through an anonymous medium.  Well, since I'm a relatively open, real person, it isn't such an incognito undertaking.  But we're all friends on OnSugar, so here goes...

I used to be a dancer.

Actually, I still am, but not like I was when I was younger.  I was born into a family of competitive, avid ballroom and swing dancers, and did them all proud in my tiny, formative years.  I was learning ballroom, latin, and swing dancing before most kids could walk, and could execute a decent cha-cha and jitterbug by grade one.  I loved dancing, and my parents, grandmother, and/or aunt took me everywhere they could.  I seemed on a fast-track to becoming a future member of the dancesport community.

That is, until my legs failed me the first time at age nine.

I was shuttled from specialist to specialist, only to find that I already had "advanced arthritis" in my lower limbs and a major bone deformity.  No one knew how to correct it, everyone was afraid to touch me at such a young age, and no one had a very optimistic prognosis.

I'll spare you the gory details, but umpteen surgeries and a world of hell later, nothing improved... except my outlook on life, that is.

When I was fourteen, the first full year I spent non-ambulatory, my parents took me to a swanky New Year's event that included dancing into the wee hours.  I spent the first chunk of time being surly, missish, and not really trying to do anything other than feel sorry for myself.  Suddenly, the DJ slid from a generic dance tune to one my mom and I had danced to a zillion times when I was a baby.  It was, "Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel" by Tavares, and as it relates to my given name, she would sing it to me while hugging me close to her, even before I could walk.  That song still makes me happy.

"Angel, c'mon, let's do this.  We'll kick their asses!" my Mom smirked, then grabbed my hand and pulled me bodily out onto the dance floor.

And we danced.

I don't know how she knew, or how I knew, but somehow we both just moved in synch, wheelchair and all, and cleared the floor amidst a standing ovation from onlookers.  We rocked it, and I have never once looked back.  I found out later that she had requested that song specifically, knowing I'd never deny my Momma a turn about to a song from my babyhood.

Now that I'm a grown woman, my husband is the one who usually takes me out on literal 'spins' around the dance floor, and his own dance background shows.  When he was a child, he took dance for fourteen years, including jazz, tap, ballet, and modern, but I've since helped him add disco, swing, ballroom, Latin, and goth dancing to his impressive repertoire.  And between the two of us, we can execute a perfect wheelie tango that would sex the pants off any standing couple.

And, most importantly, we're not alone.

Across the Pond, the Brits have done it again by way of progress and mainstreaming PWDs, but, this time, the Yanks aren't too far behind.

The American DanceWheels Foundation recently released an informative email to their members that featured their most recent accomplishments:

"Ballroom and Latin Dancers using wheelchairs will be featured in a new television series, Dancing on Wheels, debuting next year in the United Kingdom. News about this innovative and controversial dance show created a buzz in the U.S. and producers from America's Got Talent asked American DanceWheels Foundation to audition for their show."

American DanceWheels is a fantastic organization, and one of the many wheelie dancing orgs here on our fair planet, along with Wheelchair Dancesport USA, Wheel Chair Dance Sport Australia, Malta Wheelchair Dancesport Association, and B.C.'s Canadian Wheelchair Dance Academy.

The release goes on to include more local news...

"ADF highlights this past year included a three-page article in the Philadelphia Inquirer about our own Reesa Marchetti and husband Dan.  Reesa has had her own band for over thirty years and uses a power wheelchair to dance. She and Dan dance a mean Fox Trot and always bring the house down when they perform. You can read Reesa's story on our website, and yes, Reesa is as colorful on the dance floor as she is in life!!"

Their site is a great resource for those of us who still love to cut a rug on wheels, along with many other similar sites on the Web.  For people like me who remember when the notion of dancing without legs was as bizarre as disabled models, we're in luck.  Maybe we're catching up with the world; maybe the world is catching up with us, but either way...

We're taking the world by storm.

(Photos from my personal collection and New Mobility Magazine.)

This is a momentous occasion in my house.

Tonight, for the first time in my life, I'm going to schedule my night (or at least my DVR) around a reality show.

Some people may know that I'm not terribly fond of eliminate-y reality shows.  I don't care for the banal dialogue, pointless standing around, and overused pregnant pauses for dramatic license.  I also find it excessively irritating that to really appreciate the show, one must follow it religiously, much like a soap opera, but without as many any marriages to amnesiac evil twins who, in the search for their estranged fathers, discover they had four children whilst in a cult, underwent a sex change, and have been brought back from the dead...twice.  And, now that I think about it, even that sounds way more interesting than who can swallow a bug fastest or stand Flavor Flav the longest.

But, tonight will change all that.  The Brits have finally decided to export the coolest, most fabulous thing since Topshop... Britain's Missing Top Model.

The concept is basically the same as [Insert Country Here]'s Next Top Model, except these ladies are gorgeous, glamourous, and all disabled.

After doing some digging on the actual BBC site for the show, there should be a badass animated interloper to spice up the action named Disability Bitch.  I'm hoping she doesn't get edited out for the export, but if not, we can expect some seriously sassy gems like these throughout the show (from the UK site):

"Hi, I'm Disability Bitch. I'm disabled and I love it. Everyone should be disabled. Everyone should be like me."

"Mostly I use a crutch, but when I want to slip into a pair of high heels - which makes it almost impossible for someone with my lack of balance to even think about walking - I have a wheelchair to match. Of course, I'd prefer to be carried around on a sedan chair. Preferably by semi-naked men. But even I can't have everything, more's the pity."

"I love gossip, especially gossip about disabled people. Barely a day goes by when I don't find myself scanning the tabloids for news of Heather Mills."

"I eat doughnuts and I hate exercise. Quite frankly, I don't see why disabled people should have to do exercise in the first place."

DB will also be interviewing the models as they get the boot, one by one, so I'm hoping for some juicy, catty tidbits, but with as classy as these girls look, I may or may not get my wish.

The only thing I am a little confused about is the 'Missing' part.  I mean, I'm a disabled model, and I'm not missing.  I'm sitting right here on my tushy, typing out a blog.  I know a lot of other gorgeous disabled models, and they're not missing either -- they know exactly where they are and where they're going.  Professionally, I haven't really faced all that many issues, except maybe trying to explain to photographers that "just a few stairs" is NOT equivalent to wheelchair accessible, and no, I can't always move that way.  We already have a great network within the community, from runway shows to photography exhibits, but I can see that we are 'missing' from mainstream media.  Still, we're out there, and it's good to see we're finally being taken seriously by AB people.  And this..well, this is bloody brilliant, if you ask me.

The other bummer is that the BBC.co.uk page on the show is still up, and since this show was aired last season, I already know who wins.  Unless you want the ending to be spoilt, I don't recommend going directly there.  Instead, head to the BBC America page for the episode guide, intros to the models, and a little more about the show.  If you don't mind knowing who wins before the show even premiers, the UK page has tons more information.  There, you'll find quotes, downloads, message boards, extensive photo galleries for each model, and background info on the judges.  Even though I already know which of the stunning women makes it to her very own photo spread, I'll still be watching every episode as it airs.

So, if you're trying to get a hold of me tonight at 9 PM, it'll be for naught.  I'll be watching eight beautiful women as they attempt to break into the modelling industry and shatter stereotypes along the way.

(Hey, Canada, the US... where's our Missing Top Model show?!)