When Madeleine Milner was a young dancer, one of her teachers gave her the nickname “question girl.” Milner, currently a freshman at Elon University studying dance and psychology, says she tended to hone in on the small nuances of steps rather than focusing on learning combinations, and she wanted answers to her questions before feeling […]
At 22 months old, Britini D’Angelo was diagnosed with autism—a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges. When she was 5, her parents enrolled her in dance lessons at The Dance Shop Dance Studio in Niagara Falls, New York. In that setting, D’Angelo was able to escape the stigma associated with […]
This weekend, Roxey Ballet presented a sensory-friendly production of Cinderella at the Kendell Main Stage Theater in Ewing, New Jersey, with sound adjustments, a relaxed house environment and volunteers present to assist audience members with special needs. The production came on the heels of three educational residencies held at New Jersey–based elementary schools in honor […]
Terms like “proprioceptive” and “vestibular input” don’t often come up in the dance studio. But for Rhythm Works Integrative Dance (RWID) founder Tricia Gomez, they were the “magic words” that convinced a reluctant school principal to give dance a try. Gomez’s hip hop–based curriculum fuses rhythm and dance for students with learning differences. Launch Preschool […]
Christine Schwaner and Nurlan Abougaliev in PBT’s 2012 Nutcracker For many, The Nutcracker is a hallmark of the holidays. This season Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre will help more families in Western Pennsylvania take part in the tradition with an autism-friendly adaptation. Among the first of its kind in the country by a professional ballet company, the […]