COMMUNITY PROGRAMS

SHARED ABILITY

New Haven Ballet’s Shared Ability program consists of weekly dance workshops for differently abled artists aged 10+ years. Classes are lead by Kerry Kincy, a teaching artist who uses dance as a tool to build social and cognitive abilities. This wonderful program affords participating artists, including those with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy, and other challenges, and their families, a chance to dance, meet, interact and share their unique experiences with one another in a safe and supportive environment.

New Haven Ballet began Shared Ability in February 2009 as a choreography project for differently abled children and student dancers from New Haven Ballet. The goals of the program include increasing New Haven Ballet’s accessibility, creating an opportunity for New Haven Ballet and differently abled artists to meet, interact, and share their experiences and skills, and fulfilling New Haven Ballet’s mission:

“To provide the greater New Haven Community with exceptional classical ballet training, performances, and outreach programs, which nurture appreciation of ballet and foster the joy of dance.”

DANCE AIR

DanceAIR is a community program offered by New Haven Ballet, which offers dance to underrepresented children and children with financial need in New Haven. Through DanceAIR, students receive high-quality arts education, expand their understanding and appreciation of dance and the performing arts, learn basic dance technique and choreography, and have an opportunity to express themselves artistically by combining musicality and rhythm. They experience the discipline and physicality of dance, which emphasizes focus, athleticism, coordination, artistry, strength, balance, flexibility, and the rewards of hard work.

DanceAIR targets students interested in dance but may not be able to learn about and experience the art form without DanceAIR. Since 2014, DanceAIR has reached young students at many public elementary schools in New Haven. New Haven Public Schools that have offered DanceAIR training include: Fair Haven School, Columbus Family Academy, John S. Martinez School, Lincoln Bassett School, Quinnipiac School, Truman School, and East Rock School.

Specifically, DanceAIR provides:

• Dance Classes – Teachers provide weekly dance instruction for ten+ weeks in each school. The program is offered during regular school hours and as an after-school program at the Q House. Each class includes a warm-up with stretches using basic ballet technique, floor work grounded in ballet technique, teamwork through choreographing and rehearsing a dance piece, and a cool-down.

• Community Performance – DanceAIR students are invited to perform in a community performance. The NHB Company of pre-professional dancers also performs.
• Scholarships – NHB offers scholarships to students from each school who successfully complete the program. DanceAIR students demonstrate exceptional talent, dedication, and aptitude. Scholarships include tuition for multiple dance classes a week at NHB School for one year, performance fees, and dancewear. Past DanceAIR winners have received financial aid to supplement their dance training after concluding the DanceAIR scholarship. These students are training to the fullest extent and participating in every performance.
• Community Partners – Our newest partner is the Q House, which provides free classes to people in the Newhallville and Dixwell neighborhoods. Click Here to see our Children’s Division Director, Timothy Fountain, speak with WTNH News 8’s Lisa Carberg about this unique and exciting partnership.

If your school is interested in offering DanceAIR or for information on how you can help make dreams come true by supporting the program, please call: 203.782.9038.