Kyle Meservey knew what he wanted when he proposed the idea of a “Dazzle Prom” in north Las Vegas, Nevada.
“I like to dance,” he said.
Kyle, a member of the Las Vegas Nevada Skye Canyon Stake, who especially loves dancing to the “Cha-Cha Slide,” worked with community leaders to host the second annual dance for individuals with special needs at the stake center on Feb. 13.
“This whole event is brought about by love, and it’s not even just love from those of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” said President Marc McRae, president of the Skye Canyon Stake, noting the community’s help with the event.
“It’s just a massive show of love for each other,” he said.
Cheerleaders in front of the Skye Canyon Stake Center gave a pompom welcome to invitees who walked arm-in-arm with young men and young women from the Skye Canyon and Lone Mountain stakes.
Out of over 230 people participating in the event, including volunteers, 80 people with special needs arrived via personal rides, public transit or ride-sharing. Some traveled over two hours to join the party.
It was a full house, said President McRae.
Las Vegas resident Benjamin Ray almost missed the dance because the location was out of bounds for his paratransit service. He reached out to organizers and noted that a rideshare service would be too expensive and he wouldn’t be able to go. Shortly after, he got a call back — someone had covered the charges.
He was shocked. “Wait, what?” said Ray, who described himself as “one of those people that don’t really ask people for things a lot.”
His ride arrived 30 minutes later, and he made it to the party. “Walking in,” he said, “everybody was excited to see me.”
Youth who volunteered for the evening participated as “buddies” to attendees so “they would have a friend to help them throughout the evening and show them around,” said President McRae. Buddies helped with different activities, serving food, dancing with their partners and anything else attendees needed assistance with.
Jordan McRae, President McRae’s son, was a buddy for his brother, Braxton, who spent the whole night dancing. “He loves Taylor Swift,” said Jordan.
“He normally doesn’t do that, so I could definitely tell that he was really happy,” said Jordan. He hopes that events like these will help “everybody be nice” to individuals with special needs.
Inside the building, attendees walked into a hall where the ceiling fell with burgundy and white drapes and string lights.
Everyone had something at Dazzle Prom — not just dancing, but cornhole, coloring books and concessions. Friends gathered to take pictures in front of a shimmering photo wall.
Around 150 volunteers had helped to prepare and organize the highly anticipated event, according to Darci Schurig, stake communications director for the Skye Canyon Stake.
For some of those who hosted, it was life-changing.
“I just felt so much love there,” said Schurig, reflecting on how she saw more deeply the needs of people with special needs.
Benjamin Ray, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was 13 years old, said that sometimes his condition is “a blessing, but sometimes it can also be a curse.”
Conditions like cerebral palsy that come with physical limitations, for example, make it difficult to get around, make an income and find friends, said Ray, and influences like illness make daily living even more difficult.
For Ray, Jesus Christ has “helped me through a lot, ‘cause, honestly, without Him, I wouldn’t be here.”
There have been “twists and turns,” but “I think He doesn’t put anything on your plate that you can’t handle,” he said.
Sometimes Ray wonders why he was diagnosed. “I’m like, God, what was the reason for me having this?”
“I figured it out. It’s to help people that are worse off than me.”
Thinking of people with similar needs, Kyle reached out to City Councilwoman Francis Allen-Palenske, whom he had met at a City Council meeting discussing the Lone Mountain Nevada Temple. He had heard about a prom for people with special needs happening in south Las Vegas.
Unfortunately, it would have been inaccessible for his local paratransit service, a problem that many people with special needs face. He proposed holding a prom in north Vegas, and Allen-Palenske agreed to help coordinate.
“He’s an overtexter,” said his father, Chris Meservey, commenting on Kyle’s ability to be persistent.
Kyle’s tenacity built on the Skye Canyon Stake’s increased efforts to hold fun and accessible events for both people with special needs and stake members.
“We have the opportunity to go after the one. We make covenants at baptism to mourn with those that mourn and comfort those that stand in need of comfort,” said President McRae.
“This is a demographic that stands in need of comfort,” he continued, addressing the special needs community.
“This was an opportunity for us to live up to our covenants and be covenant-keeping members and make sure everybody, like we learned about in general conference, that everybody’s counted and accounted for.”
