Woman Paralyzed As A Teen Becomes 7th Best Ballroom Dancer

Oct 09, 2019 by apost team

Despite being paralyzed from the chest down, Cheryl Angelelli is still an amazing ballroom dancer. She has not let her disability get in the way of chasing down all of her dreams.

Cheryl said that she dances with her heart rather than her two feet. It is this positive attitude and spirit of determination that has propelled her forward through the years.

In 1983, Cheryl was practicing with her YMCA swim team when she dove and the hit the bottom of the pool and severely damaged her spinal cord. Although that tragic day changed the projection of her life, it did not change who she was inside.

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Although she had her fair share of challenges, Cheryl was able to return to the sport in 1998. Two years later, she competed in her first Paralympics. This was a passion of hers for over a decade. She retired from para-swimming in 2013 and then decided to pursue her dream of becoming an accomplished ballroom dancer.

Cheryl fell in love with ballroom dancing because of its beauty and she knew that she wanted to try it.

After loads of practice, she finally mastered dancing. By 2017, she was ranked as the seventh-highest wheelchair ballroom dancer in the world.

Cheryl's partner Tamerlan Gadirov lifts her up in the air in their latest routine. She says that she loves hearing the crowd when she flies up into the air even though that part used to scare her. Cheryl has definitely come a long way in her progress.

This video is truly inspiring. After you have watched Cheryl compete and chase her passion, be sure to spread this video to everyone else that you know will love it.