Cool Kid Makena Neuman empowers special needs kids, adults through dance

TEMECULA, Calif. (KABC) -- Our ABC7 Cool Kid for Thursday, April 30, is Makena Neuman, who teaches hip hop and Hawaiian dance to special needs children and adults.

Makena, who is a senior at Great Oak High School in Temecula, said her connection to her dance students is a personal one.

"My best friend has mild autism and we have been friends since we were 2 years old. We grew up right next door. My cousin has cerebral palsy, and to me they're just such amazing souls to walk this planet," she said.

Makena wanted to reach out to more people, so she started her own non-profit organization called The Me Ke Aloha Foundation, which means "with love" in Hawaiian.

She started the program in 2011 after she launched a pilot program at her high school. She said parents told her they wished she were at other schools to teach the classes.

The inspiring dance instructor said she sees no limits to what her students can learn and accomplish.

"I have students that are in wheelchairs that still do the arm movements. I mean, they can't necessarily use their feet, but they still get up there and do what they can do. It's not impossible for them, nothing's impossible," she said.

Makena believes songs have power and she chooses ones with a message. In addition to her dance steps, she wants her students to learn a very important lesson of empowerment.

Cool Kid Makena has found a way to bring fun and life-changing ideas into the lives of people young and old.