The 7th Annual Ever Widening Circle: An Evening of Entertainment Celebrating Art and Disability, held September 29, 2005 at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, featured an entertaining and diverse assemblage of celebrated performers with disabilities. This year's headliner, the amazing Matt Savage and his Jazz Trio (www.savagerecords.com), mesmerized the house. Savage, a 13 year-old world-class child prodigy jazz piano player and composer who was diagnosed with autism at the age of three, recorded his first CD in 1999 when he was just 7 years old. At the age of 9, Matt formed his Jazz Trio, headed by Matt on piano with two adult sidemen on bass (John Funkhouser) and drums (Steve Sliverstein).

Other performers included comedian Michael Lee (www.damonbrooks.com), who is blind as a result of being severely burned at the age of 13; actress writer, director, and producer Michelle Banks (www.michellebanks.com), who presented selections from her one-woman show, Reflections of a Deaf Black Woman; and AXIS Dance Company (www.axisdance.org), the award-winning ensemble of dancers with and without disabilities that, since 1987, have paved the way for a powerful and inclusive dance form, "physically integrated dance". Dancers performing at Ever Widening Circle included Judith Smith, Alisa Rasera, Katie Faulkner, Bonnie Lewkowicz and Sean McMahon.

Through this event, WID and our partner, the Corporation on Disabilities and Telecommunications (CDT) - a non-profit organization founded in 1982 that works to transform disability stereotypes by providing access and opportunities for performers and media-makers with disabilities, strive to reduce misconceptions about people with disabilities by showcasing the community's strengths and artistry. The event, a benefit for WID and CDT, is presented with Verizon Communications.