Spanish Lecturer Offers TAMIU Dance Class for Special Needs Parents Oct. 11

A guest Texas A&M International University lecturer from Spain will provide a one-time dance class for special education professionals and parents of children with special needs on Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012 from 5:30-7:00 p.m. at TAMIU’s Rec Center.

The class is free of charge to the public and will be presented by Anna Agusti, visiting guest lecturer from Barcelona, Spain.  Class size is limited to 25 adults and advance reservation is requested at 956.326.3017.

Agusti’s participatory class for parents is called “Psico Art” and aims to help parents of special needs children with any kind of disability to improve their lives through dance.  Agusti has been lecturing and providing special training opportunities to TAMIU College of Education students and Fine and Performing Arts dance students throughout her two-week guest lectureship.

TAMIU associate professor Dr. Randel Brown, who directs TAMIU’s Special Education program,  said he was impressed with Agusti’s classes for TAMIU students.

“What she does is both beautiful and inspiring and has a profound impact on children with special needs,” Dr. Brown said.

A trained dancer and choreographer, she is also a nurse who has researched the positive benefits of dance movement and dance therapy for people with disabilities.

She maintains an aggressive studio practice in her native Barcelona and is active in the Fundació Psico-Art de Catalunya, a non-profit private entity that draws its multi-professional membership from the health and education fields and focuses on the physical health of all with intellectual, physical or sensorial disabilities.    

She is a former vice president of Interdansa Associació,  which produces l'Estada Internacional de Banyoles and the InterTOURdansa Summer Festival and Cultural Heritage component of the Baix Empordà.

Agusti is part of a developing TAMIU faculty and student exchange initiative with Spain.

She said she was especially excited to visit TAMIU as she also has had a chance to visit with her son, Joan Vallejo, a TAMIU student and Dustdevil Soccer Team member.

For additional information, contact Sylvia Quinn, associate director of fitness and wellness at the TAMIU Rec Center at 326.3017.

Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at prmis@tamiu.edu