Inclusive Dance Workshop Series

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Inclusive Dance Workshop Series

The Inclusive Dance Workshop is a weekly Wednesday gathering of movers of all kinds.

This event is brought to you by the Arts and Culture Project at Access Living, an independent living center for people with disabilities, Bodies of Work: network of Disability Art And Culture, and Shirley Ryan Ability Lab. The contents of this series of workshops were developed under a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant n

umber 90RTCP0005). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this series or workshops do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, OR HHS, and you should not assume endoresemtn by the Federal Government. This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

02/19/2026

Join us tomorrow at the Plant!

01/27/2026

Come Dance with Kris Lenzo and Lauren Sheely on February 21st!

10/21/2025

In partnership with Synapse Arts, we are holding dance classes at Clarendon Park Tuesdays from 6-7:30pm. There is a hybrid option for these classes. It is $10 to register for the whole series of classes! Come for one or all! At the end on December 9th there will be an option to perform! Come dance with us! https://anc.apm.activecommunities.com/chicagoparkdistrict/activity/search/detail/568959?onlineSiteId=0&from_original_cui=true

10/14/2024

This Wednesday October 16th at 6:30pm our Inclusive Dance workshops will be only in person at High Concept Labs.

About the workshop-
Ensemble Thinking (ET) is a practice of shaping group improvisation developed by Dr. Nina Martin and Lower Left Collective. For the last year, Shireen, Margaret, and Alison have been working with the practice to increase accessibility for disability dance spaces. In this Inclusive Dance Workshop, we will work with Ensemble Thinking activities -- or “scores” -- that introduce ideas about play, composition, group attunement, and access. In addition to experiencing the magic of improvising dance together, participants will be able to take these skills forward into all collaborative settings. We'd love for you to join us!

Masks are required unless it is an access barrier.

Register here-
https://forms.gle/MD1nEBt9wdDoqvw39

For more Access Information, see-
https://highconceptlabs.org/

Image- Shireen Hamza, Dr. Nina Martin, and Alison Kopit together wearing a variety of facemasks.

10/01/2024

Interested in meeting some dancers this weekend in Chicago? Why not attend the Art/Access Lab both on Zoom and in person?

Art/ Access Lab: Meet and Make on Sunday, October 6th from 2-4pm. at Experimental Station. 6100 Blackstone Ave. Chicago IL 60637.

This Art/Access Lab gathering invites artists with disabilities, and anyone exploring their relationship to disability, to join an afternoon of meeting fellow artists and making alongside each other.

We will kick off the gathering with an invitation for artists to share what they are working on and if they would like any feedback or support from peers as they continue developing their projects.

The event is co-presented by High Concept Labs and Unfolding Disability Futures!
RSVP: https://buff.ly/4ebWn3K

03/20/2024

Class tonight, March 20th, at 6:30pm has been canceled. The next virtual class is on April 3rd.

09/20/2023

Our first Inclusive Dance Class starts today at 6:30pm! We are so excited that the class will be taught by Meredith Wells

MEREDITH ALEIGHA WELLS (they/she) recently made their Muny debut in Sister Act as Sister Mary Robert to rave reviews. They are honored to have played P***y Who in Dr. Suess’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas the musical, marking the first performance in a Broadway national tour by a wheelchair user. Meredith has also toured their original one-person musical Dysfunctioning Just Fine (Purple Skies Playwright Award) across the northeast. Earlier this year, they received nominations for The Walder Foundations’ inaugural Platform Awards cohort and a 3Arts Chicago Award in the dance category. Meredith has performed works by Donald McKayle, Marc Brew, Antoine Hunter, Catherine Meredith, Laurel Lawson, Heidi Latsky, James Morrow, David Dorfman, Mark Tomasic, David Rousseve, Anita Kenney, and Diane McIntyre; making appearances in Dance St. Louis, Seattle Repertory Theatre, OHIODance Festival, Playhouse Square, New York Theatre Workshop, Ailey Citigroup Theatre, The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, CounterBalance, and the Luminous Festival in Beijing China. www.meredithaleighawells.com

Image 1- In a manual wheelchair, with arms crossed, Meredith looks to the side, wearing tan pants and a pink shirt. Credit- Photo by Marcela Rafea courtesy of Momenta Dance Company.

Image 2- A headshot of Meredith with Blue eyes and light brown bangs. Credit- Headshot by ERAVIEW PORTRAITS

07/17/2023

Join us at West Pullman Park on July 19 for a free evening of movement designed for all bodies, minds, ages, and experience levels!

The Inclusive Dance Workshops are a community-led gathering for movers of all kinds. Led by disabled and non-disabled dance professionals trained in a variety of styles, these workshops are designed to be accessible and aim to create a space where all bodies and minds feel welcome and valued.

Date: Wednesday, July 19th
Time: 4:15pm to 5:45pm
Address: 401 W. 123rd St.

Our West Pullman Park workshop is led by and .

All are invited and encouraged to participate in whatever way feels best for them. Feel free to sit, stand, lay down, and move as best suits you. We will have a limited number of mats and chairs available for use, but encourage dancers to bring their own, if they like. We encourage all dancers to bring water and wear sun protection.

Find additional wayfinding and event information here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xLXimlcSUGt5bf8VlaxnfE1JXAD3n-9q0l52GzBtHp8/edit?usp=sharing

ASL Interpreters are available during this workshop.

Image Credit:

Image Description: Eleven dancers of different embodiments move tightly together in front of a red brick wall. They wear white masks and red or grey shirts. They look at each other with arms and legs extended, some crouched down, others reaching above themselves.

07/13/2023

Join us at Independence Park on July 18 for an evening of movement designed for all bodies, minds, ages, and experience levels!

The Inclusive Dance Workshops are a community-led gathering for movers of all kinds. Led by disabled and non-disabled dance professionals trained in a variety of styles, these workshops are designed to be accessible and aim to create a space where all bodies and minds feel welcome and valued.

Date: Tuesday, July 18th
Time: 4:00pm to 5:30pm
Address: 3945 N. Springfield Ave.

Our Independence Park workshop is led by Sydney Erlikh and Deb Goodman and will include movement explorations based on a dance they are developing, as well as a short performance of the dance featuring members of the Inclusive Dance Workshops Community.

All are invited and encouraged to participate in whatever way feels best for them. Feel free to sit, stand, lay down, and move as best suits you. The workshop space is a large, even, cement surface with very little shade. We will have a limited number of mats and chairs available for use, but encourage dancers to bring their own, if they like. We encourage all dancers to bring water and wear sun protection.

The workshop will be held in the large paved area behind the park building off of North Springfield Ave. Look for bright pink signs and IDW volunteers to help you find the workshop. If it rains, the workshop will be held inside in the park’s gymnasium, which is located on the first floor of the building. Find additional wayfinding and event information here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1639oyUwRW4kpXGtupcsNbWT3zUWodP7g2a-wEz5Kbzg/edit?usp=sharing

ASL Interpreters are available during this workshop.

Image Credit:

Image Description: Three dancers wearing white masks against a brightly colored mural on a brick wall. One dancer in a power chair is on the left and two dancers lunge toward her on the right. The dancers face each other with the lunging dancers stretching out one arm each toward the dancer on the left, who bends her head forward toward the lunging dancers.

06/26/2023

Dance with us in the Chicago Parks this Summer!

The Inclusive Dance Workshops are a community-led gathering for movers of all kinds. Led by disabled and non-disabled dance professionals trained in a variety of styles, these workshops are designed to be accessible and aim to create a space where all bodies and minds feel welcome and valued.

Workshop locations and dates are:

Independence Park
3945 N. Springfield Ave.
Tuesday, July 18th
4:00pm to 5:30pm

West Pullman Park
401 W. 123rd St.
Wednesday, July 19th
4:15pm to 5:45pm

McGuane Park
2901 S. Poplar Ave.
Wednesday, August 2nd
4:00pm to 5:30pm

As with all our workshops, all are invited and encouraged to participate in whatever way feels best for them. Feel free to sit, stand, lay down, and move as best suits you. We will have a limited number of mats and chairs available for use, but encourage dancers to bring their own, if they like. We encourage all dancers to bring water and wear sun protection.

ASL Interpreters are available during this workshop. More information at the link in bio.

Image Credit:

ID: Eleven dancers of different embodiments wearing white masks and either red or grey shirts against a brightly colored mural on a brick wall. They look at the camera. Some stand and sit up straight, others strike poses

Address

115 W Chicago Avenue
Chicago, IL
60654

Website

https://www.unfoldingdisabilityfutures.com/the-workshops

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