"Beauty"

She's intense, she's feisty, she expresses herself with every pore in her body - we met Bronwyn Hayward - Dancer, working towards her PhD, Disability Advocate, who was speaking at a Matariki event.

She shared with us her dream of being a little girl who wanted to become a ballerina.....and because she couldn't walk, everyone told her she couldn't do it.

Now, I've heard countless women who've told me this story before, ,maybe you have too...."how they wanted to be a ballerina ....but...."

And there was always some reason, some obstacle that had stopped them.

But Bronwyn is different.

She challenged her obstacles. She never took no for an answer.

She went into action, chased her dream and well, ....she's a dancer - no doubt about that!

And it was amazing to watch her dance - great dancers transcend physical boundaries and she is no different - all her dancing was on the floor, but she transported the whole room into an emotional journey, somewhere else, somewhere different!

Yes, she has a disability, but that's not what you see or hear. What you do see and hear is another human expressing her passion and her love of life - all life! In fact, in my research of her, no-one even mentions what her disability is!

She is working towards achieving her PhD, she speaks out at every chance, at every forum she can stand up and be heard at....and she is absolutely delightful to talk with.

Her film, "Beauty" in which she works with the Royal NZ Ballet, is about a teenager's dream of becoming a dancer.

In it, she dances with "Mainstream" ballerinas - two worlds of dance, dancing with each other.

Copies on DVD and video are available by contacting Bronwyn Hayward at bronwyn.hayward@clear.net.nz