Tracy Lehr
CAMARILLO, Calif. — A member of the Class of 2025 remembers dancing along to her favorite artists as a kid.
Sarah Ysordia still requests their music today.
But she can’t hear the songs, and she can’t see herself in the studio mirror.
That didn’t stop her from minoring in dance at California State University Channel Islands.
CSU Channel Islands faculty and staff welcomed her into the dance program.
“I was scared. I wasn’t sure how the resources were going to accommodate me,” said Ysordia. “I asked Heather, ‘Can I be in this program?’ and she said, ‘Yes, of course.’ And that just kind of changed the whole world for me—especially accepting who you are.”
Heather Castillo is a performer, and the Program Chair and Associate Professor of Performing Arts at the university.
“Our motto is ‘Dance for everybody,’ because to dance is to be human. When someone tells me they can’t dance, that is not true.”
Castillo, an award-winning dancer who has performed in television specials for Disney, believes we all dance every day—when we walk and even when we talk without using our hands.
“When I met Sarah, I remember her shaking. She was shaking, and she said, ‘Would it be okay if I came and danced?’ And I said, ‘Of course.’ And in that conversation, I said, ‘You should be choreographing—you have so much to offer.’”
She beams with pride just watching her unique student.
“In the absence of sight and hearing, she moved so purely from feeling,” said Castillo.
The program has used fans and scarves to help center Sarah on stage.
“Sarah has also been a great gift in just teaching us what it means to move from feeling so purely inside—the gift to us,” said Castillo.
At her 2025 graduation ceremony, Sarah translated the “Star-Spangled Banner” in a tactile form of American Sign Language as a gift to her classmates.
“I am emotionally grabbing the emotion of the flag, and I am wrapping it around the shoulder. I am making the stripes with my arms and shooting the stars out of the air,” said Ysordia.
Sarah lost her hearing and then her vision at a young age due to Usher syndrome—but she didn’t lose her balance, which is sometimes affected by the inherited condition.
She hopes her perseverance inspires others.
“I would tell you there have been days and times I wanted to quit because of my disability, and it kind of gets in your way. But I had to remind myself to take it day by day.”
Sarah has performances lined up this summer, including one in Las Vegas. Then she plans to teach dance while pursuing a master’s degree.
“Remember—your dreams will come. It will happen one day. And it did. It really did.”
If she has her way, she’ll dance with Janet Jackson someday.
And when people applaud her performances, they also stomp their feet on the percussive dance floor on campus—so Sarah can feel their appreciation for her talent.
For more information about the CSU Channel Islands Dance program, visit csuci.edu.
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