“Human expression on the most natural level is non-binary,” said Ashton Edwards, former Dancewear Center (DWC) Ambassador, in an interview for the DWC Blog. Ashton is a dancer with Pacific Northwest Ballet, and an exquisite one. I’ve been following them on Instagram since they partnered with the DWC ambassador program in 2020. They inspire me and give me hope because when I was growing up, queer dancers were invisible.
Read MoreDance is just one part of our identity, one culture that we belong to. It’s important for dancers to understand this, and it is important for them to feel affinity with other parts of their identity so that they understand they have other identities and other communities where they belong. It’s about finding balance. So, invite both your or your child’s dance and school friends to birthday parties, take a night off dance to spend time with your family, spend the summer trying a new sport or movement style— it is okay to take time off, it is okay to try out different interests, and it is important to make sure dancers understand this because the only constant in life is change and we need to prepare our young dancers to be flexible when change occurs so they can process it with strength and grace.
Read MoreI sat down with every intent to write this piece about neurodiversity in dance. However, the topic quickly became too academic and theoretical. You see, neurodiversity and dance are two topics not often heard in conjunction. Neurodiversity is, simply put, brain differences. Human brains vary. This is natural. This term is often used to describe conditions like Autism or ADHD, which are variations…
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