Around this time last year, when the pandemic shut down dance studios and theaters, many artists quickly adapted to rehearsing via Zoom. But incarcerated movers at the California Rehabilitation Center, a medium-security state men’s prison in Norco, California, had no access to Zoom, and when the prison locked down, the men had to spend nearly […]
To Keely Garfield, there’s little difference between supporting those who suffer and connecting with audiences through dance—both walk the same path of human empathy. Lauded for her delightfully unpredictable dance work, Garfield’s recently launched a surprising new pursuit: interfaith chaplaincy. Now in her residency, she offers relief to ailing patients at Mount Sinai Hospital in […]
I’ve had a complicated relationship with dance over the years—from a young girl hell-bent on pursuing a career, to a professional injured on the brink of success, to a grown woman who shunned the art form for years to avoid dealing with physical and emotional pain. But in the midst of the pandemic, hit with […]
Physical stillness can be one of the hardest things to master in dance. But stillness in the bigger sense—like when your career and life are on hold—goes against every dancers’ natural instincts. “Dancers are less comfortable with stillness and change than most,” says TaraMarie Perri, founder and director of Perri Institute for Mind and Body […]
For iele paloumpis, dance and healing have long been intertwined. They started dancing at 4 to heal from a broken femur and cracked hip plate. Then, a decade ago, a severe visual impairment forced them to reimagine what dancing (and watching dance) could be. Today, paloumpis works as a death and grief doula, and teaches […]
As COVID-19 persists, dance teachers everywhere are adapting their classes for online platforms. One such teacher, Birmingham, Alabama-based Melissa Turnage, is finding it especially vital. “I have been banned from the hospital for the last six weeks,” she says. “If there is a need, you just have to figure it out.” Turnage is a dance […]