Minnesota dancer Kaili Quevedo makes competitive comeback in wheelchair, with plans to go pro
The stage is a special place for 18-year-old Kaili Quevedo.
"When I'm on a stage, I don't feel my disability, I don't feel my chronic pain, I don't feel my anxiety," said Quevedo.
Most recently, she competed at the Masquerade Dance Competition at the Ames Center in Burnsville. During her solo performance to, "Circus" by Britney Spears, she described it as "freedom."
"The chains broke and I was back in my body and I was back in dance, I was back on the stage doing what I love, and that was the best feeling ever," said Quevedo.
Quevedo was born with Spina Bifida, but has never let it stop her from pursuing her passion. Although, her journey as a dancer has not been easy.
"When you have a disability, everything is so unpredictable, and you never know when things are going to flare up or surgeries are going to happen," said Quevedo.
She took a break from the stage for a year to address her chronic pain with her medical team at Children's Minnesota.
"Where we saw limitations, she saw opportunity," said Dr. Meysam Kebriaei, the Medical Director of Neurosurgery at Children's Minnesota. He says dancing is one the best treatments Quevedo can do for herself.
"[Dance] helps her from a physical standpoint, from a mental health standpoint, and really keeps her going and motivated," said Kebriaei.
Quevedo takes pride in motivating herself and others, by being an advocate for others with disabilities.
"It's a mix of emotions of frustration because I know what everyone's thinking, but at the same time, I know once I get on that stage, I change their minds," said Quevedo.
Just last month, Quevedo was the first wheelchair dancer to compete at the presitigious NYCDA dance convention and competition in Lake Geneva where she took 11th place out of 72 dancers.
At the Masquerade Dance Competition in Burnsville, Kaili's solo routine earned platinum.
"Platinum is one of the highest scores you can get at a dance competition," said Quevedo.
Quevedo plans to take her talents to even bigger stages in the near future.
"My plan is to go out to Los Angeles and break more barriers in the industry as a professional dancer," said Quevedo.
Quevedo says she's hoping to join the Rollettes dance team in LA, which is a professional wheelchair dance team.