When dancer Robert Wallop hears the music, his body takes over.
“When I’m on stage, when I dance, I don’t think,” said Wallop, of Annapolis, Maryland. “When I feel the beat, it goes to your feet.”
Wallop is a performer and a dance coach. He also has Down syndrome: the most frequently occurring chromosomal disorder and the leading cause of intellectual and developmental delay in the U.S. and the world, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“When you clear your brain, you see things in life and focus on ‘life is getting better,'” said Wallop. “You dance in your heart.”
Wallop will be one of many dancers, actors, authors and advocates at the Global Down syndrome Foundation’s 2025 AcceptAbilty Gala in D.C. Wednesday night.
“Our mission is to elongate life and improve health outcomes through research and medical care,” said Michelle Sie Whitten, president and CEO of Global Down Syndrome Foundation (GLOBAL). According to GLOBAL, the average life span of a person with Down syndrome is approximately 60 years — a significant rise from the average life span of 25 years in 1983.
“It’s a tough time for us,” said Whitten. “Most of our revenue is with NIH,” referring to reductions in federal funding for research at the National Institutes of Health under the Trump administration.
The gala will honor Rep. Diana DeGette, a Democrat from Colorado, and Rep. Robert Aderholt, a Republican from Alabama, for their advocacy work in support of those with Down syndrome.
“We bring both sides of the aisle,” said Whitten, of the nonpartisan foundation. “I like to think that people with Down syndrome bring people together, and that’s kind of our karma.”
Performers with Down syndrome at home on stage
Tucker Emry, an actor from the Baltimore area, who is the 2025 GLOBAL Ambassador, said he’s at home on stage.
“It feels amazing,” said Emry. “It feels like I can actually do the thing I love, and love the stuff that I do.”
Emry said he feels transformed when bringing different characters to life. Last summer he played a character in a play about Dungeons and Dragons: “It was really fun being someone that raised the dead, and having that experience.”
Does he get nervous before the curtain goes up?
“I can do it, I’m ready,” he said. “I’m a really good actor, and can say the lines right out when I’m on stage.”
“We should all be striving to ensure that people with Down syndrome have opportunities,” Whitten told WTOP. “So that people are living their best life, and that they’re productive, happy, included and respected.”
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