Stepping lively once more

When Bill Kennedy, a retired interior designer, found out he was losing his vision due to macular degeneration, he was devastated.

As an artist, he believed that not being able to read or drive paled in comparison to not being able to paint again.

Kennedy lost the vision in his left eye in 2001 and in his right eye in 2004.

“At first you think your life is over,” he said. Word of his loss got out to friends, and he recently received a phone call from his high school music teacher, Emily Story.

“Every time I think of you, Billy,” she said, “I think of a red-haired boy, smiling and dancing.”

That phone call sparked an idea.

Kennedy’s 55th high school reunion, in Kennett, Mo., was approaching. Wouldn’t it be fun to surprise Story and the rest of his class with a dance number?

“I hadn’t danced in 50 years,” said Kennedy, 74. Unsure if it was even possible for a blind man to tap dance, he gave local dance instructor Donna Peterson a call.

She agreed to meet with him.

“I didn’t need to teach him,” she said. “It all came back to him.”

He trained with Peterson for four months and then flew with his wife, Ann, to Missouri for the reunion. His dance number was a complete surprise to everyone, including Story, who had a seat of honor in the front row.

“I danced a sassy little tune,” he said.

He brought the house down, and Story cried. Kennedy’s wife told him he got a standing ovation.

“Who helped them all up?” he quipped, referring to the age of his classmates.

Dancing renewed his sense of joy, and he began painting again. He recently had a show of his work at Washington Photo in downtown Spokane.

One of his paintings is still on display there.

“He’s amazing,” said Peterson.

A few months ago, she got another call from Kennedy. His church was staging a musical, “I’ll be Home for Christmas.” In addition to the two tap numbers he’d perform, he thought a ballroom dance sequence would add to the show.

The dance shoe was on the other foot.

“I don’t know ballroom dancing, so he is teaching me,” Peterson said.

At a recent rehearsal, Kennedy and Peterson glided across the stage like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. As the graceful pair swirled, dipped and swayed to the tune “I’ll be Home for Christmas,” Kennedy’s lack of vision didn’t appear to slow him down.

His feet responded to the music, and his dance partner responded to his lead.

“I don’t think he realizes what a joy it is for me to dance with him,” Peterson said. “This man rises above everything.”