Ballet for All Bodies™

About the Workshop

Ballet for All Bodies™ re-imagines the dance class as a radically inclusive and supportive environment for a diverse range of movers. In the workshop, we will center the joy of dancing as we explore the traditional principles of ballet technique in a fun and affirming environment. Participants will have the opportunity to stretch, bend, balance, twirl, and soar while discovering the inner and outer strength and grace that ballet cultivates.

A variety of modifications will be offered to adapt class combinations for a wide range of abilities. Movers of all levels, backgrounds, and identities are welcome and encouraged to join. Participants should wear comfortable clothes, bare feet, socks or flat dance shoes.

About the Instructor

As a dancer, entrepreneur, and community activator, Alyah Baker leads a multifaceted life that exists at the intersection of art, activism, and social justice. In 2003 she received a B.A. in sociology with a dance minor from Duke University. After graduation, she relocated to the Bay Area where she performed with Oakland Ballet, Dance Through Time, and ABD Productions, among others. Additionally, she has worked as a freelance performer and teacher, taking her educational series Ballet for Black and Brown Bodies to studios throughout Northern California.

This August, Alyah returned to Duke as part of the inaugural MFA in dance cohort. While at Duke she plans to develop alternative pedagogical approaches to ballet technique that honors the embodied knowledge of “othered bodies,” specifically those of BIPOC, queer, and gender-fluid folks. Her research will explore paths to move the form away from the social constructs of race, gender, and sexual orientation.

About the Location

This workshop will meet in the Ark Dance Studio on East Campus: get directions