Brooklyn teen with hearing impairment, lands spot on Nets dance team

Ever hear about the deaf kid who became a professional dancer? Neither did Vako Gvelesiani, 13, of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, before his dream came true.

Vako has been dancing since he was 2. He takes lessons at Horizons Dance School near his home, where he lives with his immigrant parents from the nation of Georgia. He studies dance at Mark Twain Intermediate School 239 for the Gifted and Talented and has been accepted into the dance program at prestigious LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in Manhattan.

“Vako’s dream is to go to Juilliard,” says his father, Mike Gvelesiani, an electrician trained in traditional Georgian dance.

“Yeah, and I’m a big Brooklyn Nets fan,” says Vako, wearing a Nets jacket over a Nets shirt and brushing back the long, curly hair covering his ears. “I play hoops with all my neighborhood pals. I got some moves, yeah, but I don’t know if I’m ready to go against Joe Johnson yet. But I was always searching the Nets website for upcoming events.”

Source: http://nydn.us/1fg3PvX