Carol Crawford Smith naturally beams and perhaps like a sun source, her rays of talent reach out and inspire everyone who steps into the warmth.   Carol openly shares her talents through her dance, choreography and instruction, and now – by inviting us into her personal battle with multiple sclerosis through her writing.        In a new book, Mental Sharpening Stones: Manage the Cognitive Challenges of Multiple Sclerosis [Demos Medical Publishing, 2008], Carol has written a powerful chapter about how her personal fight with MS has enabled her to preserve and continue to sharpen her talents, while further extending her natural style of educating others.  In fact, Carol has found that by exercising her cognitive skills, she continues to “dance” through her meticulous instruction, outreaching her dance experience to inspire her students.  This same skill force is released in the artistry of her writing, instilling other MS patients with a sense that they too may push back against their cognitive and physical difficulties of this chronic disease.      It is beyond imagination how Carol’s community has embraced her artistic leadership by supporting her efforts to build a new home, via ABC’s Extreme Make-Over Home Edition, and grow an inspiring dance school.  No doubt, the community has gained far more than given.  Feel free to step into this sunlight.     Jeffrey N. Gingold, Author

Courage comes in many forms. Some run in front of a speeding train to hold a man, who has fallen down, below the iron wheels. A stranger's life was saved because it was the right thing to do. Some show courage by getting up every morning and finding some meaning in their homeless existence. They find some reason for hope and for joy; some reason to believe and to continue on. Some find themselves facing a faceless enemy far from home trying to sort out the right from the wrong. There will always be questions. Some face a debilitating disease that takes the one true love from her life her legs . She now has to find another way to dance. Carol has not let her body stop her creativity and her courage. She does not ask Why but rather Why Not? Having known and worked with Carol for almost twenty years it is a pleasure to offer this shout out to one of the most courageous women I know. Carol has found a way to continue her journey in dance by recognizing all activities start with a dream in our hearts. Her heart is a good and solid and creative one. Good for Carol. And good for the rest of us who will be kept warm by the sunshine she offers. Nikki Giovanni, Poet

We began as a small group dancing with Carol in an old high-ceilinged room on summer afternoons. An incredible dancer--from the renowned Dance Theatre of Harlem--had arrived in our small college town. We watched with amazement as that slender, strong woman spun and leapt through late day streaks of sunlight gleaming over smooth oak floors. For more than twenty years I have danced with Carol. I have taken her ballet classes, collaborated with her on an opera, on our town’s bi-centennial musical and on uncounted dance concerts. I took classes with her in the times that her leotard strained mightily against the melon of her belly. Nine months pregnant, she was still a glorious dancer! I was there when Carol and her company danced at the Kennedy Center and with the Roanoke Opera. I was also there the first time she stumbled out of a pirouette, and during the turbulent, incomprehensible weeks and months when movement became more and more difficult for her. Carol never stopped teaching; she continued to choreograph, to study, to contribute to the greater arts community, and to mother her two beautiful sons. A cruelly capricious disease struck Carol but she never gave in to despair, anger or self-pity. These days she teaches and choreographs from a wheel chair. When the music begins to play, her strong voice resonating above it, my magnificent friend is still dancing--leaping joyfully through great gold shafts of courage.  Ann Goethe, author of Midnight Lemonade

Carol is an example of a true warrior whose spirit forges ahead through all circumstances, where adversities have no place. It is her destiny in this life to express high excellence in the arts; in dance which at a young age she had already achieved fame and excellence as a solo dancer in the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Also, as an artist her works capture the rhythm and flow of dance with electrifying energy and style. The brilliance and contrasts in colors and design grab the attention of the viewers as it pulls the observer into the spirit of dance in the art. Through Carol's struggles with her health she maintains her high standard in thoughts, beliefs, and in her expressions in life as portrayed in her arts. From her higher consciousness Carol sets an excellent example for all people in all conditions of life. She looks to the sky, flies high and owns life victoriously. ***** A personal message…Carol, I see you victorious in everything in all of your life. You are a cool lady!!!! Wu Ching Lian, artist