Nitaya Lewis glides across the floor, guided by her partner, Al Clemens. Head tilted just so, a smile breaking across her face, she’s a natural on the dance floor — all grace and rhythm. Her body transcends merely knowing the correct steps and arm movements. She moves as easily as … well, we’ll let her say it in her own words.

“I feel like I’m a princess when I’m dancing,” she said. “I feel like a feather.”

Lewis, 28, is one of 22 clients from Easter Seals Arc who are putting the finishing touches on their dances as they prepare for the nation’s first Special Olympics ballroom dance competition, which will be Saturday at Memorial Coliseum. Organizers hope the program developed locally will eventually become a model for a new national Special Olympics sport. Competitors will get either a first-, second- or third-place medal or a ribbon.

On a recent Wednesday, the athletes and their “unified dancers” — more experienced dancers without disabilities — practiced at American Style Ballroom. The special Olympians’ skills varied widely. Some, such as Lewis, took to it naturally. Others knitted their brows in concentration as they struggled to learn the steps. But they all shared one thing in common: smiles and laughter.

Although some don’t have the verbal skills to express their feelings, Jessica Carney, an Arc caseworker and ballroom instructor, said ballroom dancing “gives them freedom to express themselves.”

Steve Hinkle, president of Easter Seals Arc, is a longtime ballroom dancer and was the impetus for the program. “I figured if I didn’t get it started, it’s not going to happen,” he said.

With the popularity of the TV show “Dancing with the Stars,” Easter Seals Arc clients were familiar with and interested in ballroom dancing. And as Hinkle noted, “Ballroom dance is a healthy activity. If you really are into ballroom dance, it can improve all kinds of things in your health. … It can be a lifelong skill.”

About 50 Easter Seals Arc clients expressed an interest in ballroom dancing, with 23 deciding to participate in the competition, which is being organized by Vivian Hans of Fort Wayne DanceSport, a chapter of USA Dance, a nationwide organization of amateur ballroom dancers.

Hans was responsible for matching unified dancers with their special-needs partners. Some of the unified dancers expressed skepticism initially, saying they had never been around people with disabilities.

“That picture was so wrong it isn’t funny,” Hans said. “Now they’re just a fellow dancer.”

Hinkle, whose dance partner is Easter Seals Arc client Jane Kipling, said the experience helps the dancers without disabilities see their partners in a new way.

“Barriers are being broken,” he said. “When a person with normal abilities takes a person with a disability into their arms, they begin to realize the person they are dancing with is a person first, not a person with a disability. … It becomes a fabulous experience for everybody involved.”

That includes the clients, too. Hinkle recalled a special moment for one of the Special Olympic dancers.

“He was dancing with a lady who’s very attractive,” Hinkle said. “When they locked on into the ballroom dance (stance), it was like a light bulb went (on) and he just looked at her and went, ‘Yes!’”

Despite the physical closeness that comes with ballroom dancing, Hinkle doesn’t worry about any of the clients falling figuratively for their partners. “We haven’t had any challenges with intimacy,” he said.

Dan Keck, a volunteer who dances with client Chris Hamilton, said he’s doing it because he wanted to do something special for a new group of people.

“It’s a great experience, with the usual good feelings from helping someone out,” he said.

Tony Belton, community relations coordinator for Easter Seals Arc, perhaps said it best of the clients: “These people humble you and ground you.”

But for Lewis, it’s simply about her love of dancing.

“I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” she said.