Nebraska teen dancer, who is blind, taps her way past limits

ALLIANCE, Neb. (KOLN) - Mileigh Krebs has practiced her dance routines like countless other kids, and she continues to defy expectations despite being blind.

“I loved doing all the dances that I have been doing. I’ve clogged. That was probably the most fun one to date,” Mileigh Krebs said.

But dancing isn’t as easy for her as she’s been visually impaired since birth.

“They just figured it was an underdeveloped optic nerve,” Mileigh’s grandmother Pam Krebs said.

Mileigh says she can see some light, but that’s about all.

“This room is bright. I can tell that there’s a spotlight. I can tell that there’s a light coming from over there. And I can tell that there’s a light coming from over there,” she said.

Mileigh Krebs started dancing at 7th Street Dance Studio in Alliance when she was three years old. Now at age 18, she is getting ready to graduate. Her grandmother played an instrumental role in making sure she learned how to dance.

“She’s always liked music. When she was little, she’d even just sway to like the radio for the music. And she loved it,” her grandmother said.

“I wanted her to experience opportunities that other sighted kids can do. And like I said, she’s always loved music. And I thought, well, piano’s okay. But she loves footwork, dance and all that. I figured this would be the perfect thing for her to do,” she said.

Krebs does play piano, and she sings, too.

But she’s had quite a history of dance at the 7th Street Dance Studio, starting out with a teacher named Miss Kathy who taught her ballet and later some tap.

“And ballet is very visual. So, Nana had me do ballet for a year. But Nana took me out of it because it was a little too visual. And now I do tap. I’ve done tap for 15 years,” Krebs said.

Avoiding group tap dancing has been the best route for her. “I heard so many tap shoes. It was hard to figure out what was going on in a class setting,” Krebs said.

As a solo tap dancer, she’s achieved so much. Her most recent teacher, Lori Davis, says tap dancing is the perfect combination.

“She can pick up any sound and do it with her feet. Her sense of rhythm is amazing,” Davis said.

Mileigh Krebs, who currently attends Hemingford High School, is a senior and will graduate from the Alliance-based dance program this year.

“I would keep her forever, but typically they go to senior year and then they move on,” Davis said.

Krebs has lots of future plans.

“I am going to the training center in Lincoln to get more help with my cane travel skills,” she said.

But what she’ll never need help with is feeling the music and dancing.

“She has just amazed me in her ability, what she’s done. I mean, there’s no stopping her. And she doesn’t want to. She wants to be like sighted kids. Tap dancing is hard to do, but Mileigh’s accomplished it with her teacher,” her grandmother said.

The art of dancing is something Krebs will always enjoy. By mastering this art, she’s become an inspiration at the 7th Street Dance Studio and in the community. Her grandmother knew she could do it all along.

“I want her to go out and conquer the world. Whatever she does, she’s gonna conquer it,” her grandmother said.

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