Artist, behavioral-health technician, and motivational speaker Andréa Labbée presented Miss Enfranchised in 2024, supported by Creative Connections, an initiative by South Florida’s Pioneer Winter Collective to extend the impact of performances supporting inclusivity. Her autobiographical dance-theater solo, which explored addiction, loss, and healing, gave rise to Recovery in Motion, an ongoing weekly session that blends […]

Dancin Power’s first student refused to dance. Morg’Ann was a teenager with a chronic illness who had been in the hospital for three months. “She looked at me and said, ‘I’m not going to dance; I’m in a wheelchair,’ ” remembers Dancin Power founder Vania Deonizio. But Deonizio is not one to give up. She […]

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the Broadway revival of West Side Story to close on March 12, just three weeks after its official opening, cast member Michelle Mercedes was thrown for a loop. “I made my Broadway debut in the show, and to have that ripped away was very jarring,” she says. “I’m continuing to […]

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 […]

Did you know that you can dance while being completely out of touch with your body? It seems counterintuitive. Yet the stress of daily responsibilities, through a pandemic nonetheless, takes its toll and we look for ways to escape or even numb over. With all of life’s uncertainty right now, it’s common—and often necessary—to disconnect, […]

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 […]

Before I was ready for therapy, I had ballet. To be clear, dancing came with difficulty for me. But the experience—with the right teacher—was deeply healing. The thing that helped me start to unite my mind with my body was my teacher’s unique use of language, of words, matched with the movement. I had tried […]