(ENGLEWOOD, NJ) -- Students with special needs from across the region lit up the Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC) stage as the Voices in Harmony showcase returned on May 7, 2023. This was the fourth year of the awe-inspiring production after the pandemic forced a hiatus. Students from 14 public and private schools with different types of disabilities took the stage to sing and dance in front of their friends and families.

bergenPAC teaching artists help the students prepare during the year so they can be ready their day in the spotlight.

“I felt immeasurably proud of my students and their accomplishment. It’s not easy to get up there on stage, yet they did with so much grace and joy,” said Saloney Ginger, a bergenPAC teaching artist who has worked with The Felician School for Exceptional Children in Lodi since 2018. “I have had the pleasure of dancing with them weekly in preparation and started each rehearsal by asking, ‘We are going to dance with our what?’ and they would answer each time with a resounding, ‘Our hearts!’, and they certainly did.”

Voices in Harmony is a unique program at the heart of bergenPAC’s mission to make the arts accessible to everyone in the community.

“This is one of the most meaningful experiences bergenPAC creates. It’s always a joy to see these students enjoy themselves creatively as they also build their confidence,” said Becky Serico, Director of Education at bergenPAC’s Performing Arts School. “We are excited to see its return and look forward to making it even bigger next year.”

Voices in Harmony was supported by Visions Federal Credit Union.

Participating schools included: Bergen Boulevard School (Ridgefield); Bergenfield High School; Felician School for Exceptional Children; Garfield High School; Lindbergh Elementary School; Lyndhurst High School; Lyndhurst Middle School; Palisades Park JR/ SR High School; Pompton Lakes High School; Ridgefield Memorial High School; Ridgefield Park High School; Shaler Academy (Ridgefield); Slocum Skewes (Ridgefield); and Teaneck High School.

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Founded in 2003, the 1,367-seat Bergen Performing Arts Center, or bergenPAC, is the area’s cultural mecca. Housed in a historic Art Deco-style theater boasting one of the finest acoustic halls in the United States, bergenPAC attracts a stellar roster of world-class entertainment. The jewel in our crown is bergenPAC’s Performing Arts School – the innovative, educational performing arts initiative that, through programs, classes, outreach, school shows, and main theater presented shows, reach more than 30,000 students and community youth annually. The Performing Arts School provides community youth, age 2 months to 21 years, with unique, “hands-on” training in music, dance and theater by industry professionals. It is through the ongoing generosity of sponsors, donors, members, and patrons that the not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) corporation bergenPAC and The Performing Arts School are able to thrive and enrich our community.