[Virtual] Dark Room Ballet: Pro Class

Hosted by Movement Research, Dark Room Ballet is designed specifically for the educational needs of blind and visually impaired adults. Dark Room Ballet Series is offered at no cost.

To register, email: [email protected]

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Workshop Description:

Who can take Dark Room Ballet Pro Class? If you have been studying in Dark Room Ballet Open Level class regularly, and feel confident in your use of tape for orientation and your basic ballet vocabulary, you can take Dark Room Ballet Pro Class. If you are a blind or visually impaired professional or pre-professional dancer, or a blind or visually impaired dancer who regularly studies in ballet classes designed for sighted people, you can take this class. If you aren't sure if you're ready, ask Krishna during Question and Answer time in Monday night Open Level class (odds are, if she recognizes your voice before you self-identify, she will say yes). If you've never taken Open Level, please come! This is a low support class. That means you will not receive a vocabulary email the night before, and the descriptions Krishna uses will rely more heavily on vocabulary than anatomical words.

What is the format of Dark Room Ballet Pro Class? There is a five-part barre and a two-part center, plus a ten-to-fifteen-minute lecture on how to apply blind-specific dance techniques to advanced ballet techniques. As always, there is Question and Answer time.

Session One (4/15): Fifth Position and the Challenges Maintaining Bilateral Symmetry.

Session Two (4/22): Grand Plie -- Why?

Session Three (4/29): Strategies for Maximizing Balance in Center Adagio.

Session Four (5/6): Inside and Outside Turns for Dancers That Don't Spot.

Session Five (5/13): Traveling Turns for Dancers That Don't Spot.

Session Six (5/20): Flow State and Petite Allegro.

Session Seven (5/27): Grand Allegro and Orientation.

Session Eight (6/3): Blind Dancers, Artistic Identity, and the Difference Between Bravado and Brio.

Accessibility notes:

-This class includes auditive guidance.

-Automated Closed Captioning through Zoom is available.

For access related questions and requests, email [email protected], subject line "Dark Room Ballet."

[Image description: Krishna, a thin, pale-skinned woman with long dark hair pulled into a braid, poses on a studio stage. She is wearing a simple white dress with her shoulders exposed and a fluffy white headdress perched on her forehead and wrapping down her braid. She looks over her left shoulder as she lightly holds a straight cane between her hands and points her left foot behind her. Photo Credit: Krishna Washburn & Micaela Mamede.]