Ballet for All – shifting focus to adapt practice

Authors: Clare Guss-West, MA and Irma Becker, BA

More than any other dance form, ballet presents perhaps the greatest challenges to all aspects of accessibility with its prevailing focus on the physical achievement of the form and on conformity to traditional aesthetics and yet the demand for adapted ballet practice is growing fast. Institutions such as the Royal Academy of Dance and the Joffrey Ballet school’s Adaptive dance program embrace such diversity and inclusivity and in many cases, integrate children with motor challenges into regular class.