New Haven, CT…….New Haven Ballet is pleased to offer two “Shared Ability” dance workshops for students with physical, intellectual, or emotional disabilities ages 12-20. The workshops will pair these students with dancers from the New Haven Ballet Company for a fun and stimulating 90 minute program of warm up exercises, movement studies, and shared improvisations. Students with disabilities who wish to dance with the New Haven Ballet Company after the workshops may sign up for a series of Saturday rehearsals in April and May, culminating in a performance at the Shubert Theater on Saturday, June 6 at 7:00 p.m.
Shared Ability will be conducted by Brad Roth, a teaching artist with the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism. Mr. Roth has a Masters degree in Movement and Dance from Wesleyan University, a Bachelors degree from Cornell University and is a certified Laban Movement Analyst. Mr. Roth is also founding director of Dancing Day, Inc. which has promoted and produced “shared ability” dance for people of all ages, abilities,
and disabilities since 1995. Performances have been given in schools and community centers, at the Connecticut Special Olympics, and at the Special Olympics World Games.
The first workshop will be held from 2:00-3:30 on Sunday, March 22 at the Wallingford Parks and Recreation Facility, 6 Fairfield Rd. in Wallingford. The second workshop will be held from 3:00-4:30 on Saturday, April 4 at the New Haven Ballet, 70 Audubon St. in New Haven. An additional workshop (closed to the public) will be held from 2:00-3:30 on Sunday, March 29 for residents of the Children’s Center of Hamden. The first workshop in Wallingford is limited to 25 students and the workshop in New Haven is limited to 15 students. In all cases, caregivers must be present during the event.
To register for the Wallingford or New Haven workshop, please email administrator@newhavenballet.org or call Ruth at 203-782-9038. New Haven Ballet’s Shared Ability Project is made possible by a generous grant from the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven with additional support from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism and the New Alliance Foundation. The Program is also sponsored in part by the City of New Haven’s Department of Disability Services.