2008 Woodie Awards
Bill Shannon the 'Crutch-master'
Shelley Thomas
Issue date: 3/15/07 Section: A & E
- Page 1 of 1
Sponsored by the sisters of Zeta Iota Lambda and special service learning, Bill "Crutch" Shannon gave a performance in the Edgerton Center for the Performing Arts on Feb. 27 in order to raise disability awareness.
The show began with Shannon giving the audience background information about his condition. He talked about how he has a hip deformity, but still has use of his legs. However, in order to not further damage his hips, he must distribute his weight with the use of crutches.
Shannon's hip deformity is a permanent disability. He began using his crutches at five years old and continued until he was 12. Then when he reached his 20's he began using his crutches again.
During the years when Shannon wasn't on crutches, he participated in many physical activities, such as skateboarding, snowboarding and dancing. Unfortunately, these activities made his hip condition worse, confining him to crutches for the rest of his life.
After Shannon finished talking about his past, he began to share about how his life is now. He explained his experience with cultural conflicts, such as how he can't ride a skateboard without people looking dumbfounded at him.
"You're supposed to look stable," said Shannon, being humorous about how he finds it entertaining to try tricks on his skateboard and fall in public places.
"I have a disability too," said Emily Lupica, senior, Warwick, R.I. "I went to the show to see his take on it. I've experienced a lot of what he went through as well."
Shannon then taught the audience how to dance with crutches, just in case anyone breaks their leg before a wedding. He named his style of dancing the "Shannon technique."
"You can try to look good on crutches without the Shannon technique, but you're going to have a hard time," said Shannon, right before he amusingly demonstrated his dance moves, such as the spinning-cross-to-lean and the double-high-mid.
He gave himself a rest by showing the crowd a few video clips. One clip was of him performing a normal, everyday task-picking up a water bottle from the ground. He was in a busy place as he went into his high-mid low-mid split to reach the bottle; meanwhile an elderly woman stopped and watched him.
"I thought he was awesome," said Amanda Davis, sophomore, Pequannock, N.J. "The old lady with the bottle was hilarious. He was a great performer and very talented."
Shannon ended his show by revealing some of his most challenging tricks.
"I really enjoyed the show," said Rachel Brophy, senior, Dalton, Mass. "He was really entertaining and I had a lot of laughs. There was a great turnout and the audience had a lot of energy."
Shannon's purpose for the show was not to have the audience feel bad for his disability because he didn't feel bad for himself. He's just living his life, remembering that the most important thing is to focus on what you can do, not what you can't.
The show began with Shannon giving the audience background information about his condition. He talked about how he has a hip deformity, but still has use of his legs. However, in order to not further damage his hips, he must distribute his weight with the use of crutches.
Shannon's hip deformity is a permanent disability. He began using his crutches at five years old and continued until he was 12. Then when he reached his 20's he began using his crutches again.
During the years when Shannon wasn't on crutches, he participated in many physical activities, such as skateboarding, snowboarding and dancing. Unfortunately, these activities made his hip condition worse, confining him to crutches for the rest of his life.
After Shannon finished talking about his past, he began to share about how his life is now. He explained his experience with cultural conflicts, such as how he can't ride a skateboard without people looking dumbfounded at him.
"You're supposed to look stable," said Shannon, being humorous about how he finds it entertaining to try tricks on his skateboard and fall in public places.
"I have a disability too," said Emily Lupica, senior, Warwick, R.I. "I went to the show to see his take on it. I've experienced a lot of what he went through as well."
Shannon then taught the audience how to dance with crutches, just in case anyone breaks their leg before a wedding. He named his style of dancing the "Shannon technique."
"You can try to look good on crutches without the Shannon technique, but you're going to have a hard time," said Shannon, right before he amusingly demonstrated his dance moves, such as the spinning-cross-to-lean and the double-high-mid.
He gave himself a rest by showing the crowd a few video clips. One clip was of him performing a normal, everyday task-picking up a water bottle from the ground. He was in a busy place as he went into his high-mid low-mid split to reach the bottle; meanwhile an elderly woman stopped and watched him.
"I thought he was awesome," said Amanda Davis, sophomore, Pequannock, N.J. "The old lady with the bottle was hilarious. He was a great performer and very talented."
Shannon ended his show by revealing some of his most challenging tricks.
"I really enjoyed the show," said Rachel Brophy, senior, Dalton, Mass. "He was really entertaining and I had a lot of laughs. There was a great turnout and the audience had a lot of energy."
Shannon's purpose for the show was not to have the audience feel bad for his disability because he didn't feel bad for himself. He's just living his life, remembering that the most important thing is to focus on what you can do, not what you can't.
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