All Abilities Contemporary Ballet

This contemporary ballet class is an opportunity for dancers to explore ballet to carve out space in the body and create a home there for self-expression and storytelling. Here, we will discover tools to help strengthen the body for the support of our exploration of the spine, choreography and improv.

Lesson plan: Class will begin with the dancers bringing awareness to their breath and energetic spine. I will guide the dancers as they explore arch, curls, contractions, spirals and lateral side bends. All movements that will help strengthen, stretch and mobilize core muscles and support us as we investigate the port de bras (carriage of the arms) through choreography and improv.

Accessibility: Please let us know if you have any access needs we should be aware of when you register for the class.

Currently we have Closed Captions (CC) for our classes but we are working on getting an ASL interpeter for our classes. If this is something you need, please make sure to indicate it, so we can make sure to support you.

Closed Captions - We now have Closed Captions (CC) on Zoom! You can either follow along the directions as CC or as a transcript.

View class directions- We now have class directions in English, Spanish or French.

¿Habla español? También puede ver las instrucciones del maestro de baile en español. Antes de la clase, inicie sesión en Streamer.center con el nombre de usuario: DfABGuest.Spanish y la contraseña: Dfabspanish. Haga clic en la Habitación Privada y ahora puede ver las direcciones en español. Vea este video para una demostración.

Est-ce que tu parles Français? Vous pouvez également consulter les instructions du professeur de danse en espagnol. Avant le cours, connectez-vous à Streamer.center avec le nom d'utilisateur: DfABGuest.French et le mot de passe: Dfabfrench. Cliquez sur la salle privée et vous pouvez maintenant voir les directions en espagnol. Regardez cette vidéo pour une démonstration.

Want to view the class directions as a transcript? You can view the instructor's directions as a live transcript during the class if you go to Streamer.center. Log in with the username: DfABGuest.English and the password: Dfabenglish. Once logged in, click on the private room. Now you will be able to view the live descriptions as a transcript.

If it is your first time taking a Zoom dance class with Dance for All Bodies, we have some tips for using Zoom that can be found here. 

Zoom Link & Password info - Once you register, you should receive a Confirmation Email with the Zoom link & password in your email. You will also receive a Reminder Email 1 hour before the class. Make sure to check your Spam folder as many of our participants have mentioned that the email has gone to their Spam folder.

First Time Taking a Class with Dance for All Bodies? Please take 3 minutes to fill out these two forms linked below:

1- Demographics Survey

2- Media Release Form

Cost: We have a suggested donation of $5-15. Your donations directly go towards paying our instructors and allows us to offer these dance classes available for all abilities! If you are not able to donate at this time, we still hope to see you there! Just make sure to select "Free" when you register.

More information about instructor; SAMANTHA FIGGINS (Washington, D.C.) began her dance training at Duke Ellington School of the Arts and at Dance Theatre of Harlem. She continued her education at SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance. Upon graduating cum laude, Ms. Figgins joined Complexions Contemporary Ballet. While there she was featured both on the cover of Dance Spirit magazine and in Pointe magazine’s “10 Careers to Watch” in 2013. She has worked with Beyoncé and can be seen in the film Enemy Within and Bolden! She joined Alvin Ailey in 2014. Since joining she has performed at the NMAAHC (2017) and at TEDtalk (2019).