At Azara Ballet, dancers are not expected to make eye contact with directors and choreographers. If company members need an impromptu break from the harsh stage lights during rehearsal, they take it. They also receive clear directions about hair and makeup long before the shows.
Priority at Azara It is the health of dancers. Founded in 2022 by dancers Kate Flowers and Martin Rosari, both autistic (and married), the company is based in Sarasota and Bradenton, Florida, and is a haven for neurodiverse performers. (The company consists of 10 dancers, not all of whom are neurodivergent.)
“When I dance, as long as it’s in a good environment and a safe space, expressing through nonverbal movement is something that helps me a lot,” Flowers said.
Azara addresses a gap in the world of dance: the need for spaces where people with autism, ADHD, or other conditions that fall under the broad term “neurodiversity” can freely experience this art form. Evidence, both anecdotal and experimental, suggests a profound relationship between dance and these neurological conditions. This relationship has become an increasing area of focus for researchers, artists, and performing arts organizations in recent years.
In November, Azara gathered to present her show “Azara’s Voices” at the Black Box Theater where the show will soon be held. The atmosphere in the theater was both active—as dancers warmed up, reviewed steps, and chatted—and calm: there was moderate lighting, pleasantly cool air, and, among the performers, a seemingly innate awareness of the volume of their voices.
To begin rehearsal, Rosary gave the dancers a summary of the schedule for the next three hours. They then reviewed the four parts — all by company members — before receiving feedback. While the dancers performed, the music was never loud, and corrections were never shouted.
For the most part, however, the rehearsal didn’t look much different from that of any small dance company. But dancer Rebecca Kimsey, who has autism, says what makes “a world of difference” is the level of humanity and consideration in the studio.
“Martin and Kate have been so accepting and understanding of whatever comes up, as if I was having a day where I would wake up with a migraine from overstimulation,” she said.
“If we’re in the training phase and things are moving too fast, they still won’t shout out corrections, which can alert people or scare them if they’re concentrating,” she added.
Flowers said she always felt drawn to dance. “Especially with autism, it’s really helpful to have structure,” she said. “Dancing really provides that. It makes sense why I was drawn to dance, and why I kept falling back.
Research confirms the validity of these experiences. The findings suggest that dance may be an unusual fit to complement the strengths that come with autism or certain neurological conditions, while also alleviating some of the difficulties.
Dr. Jessica Eccles, a researcher at Brighton and Sussex Medical School in England, is studying how some conditions overlap with… Hyperactivity (greater range of motion than usual) and creativity. “Attention to detail, memory, emotions, thinking outside the box — all of these things are probably useful assets for dancers,” Eccles said. “A large percentage of dancers may be neurodivergent, but it may not be recognized; They may not have diagnoses.
Julia Basso, director of the Embodied Brain Laboratory at Virginia Tech, provided further evidence of the relationship between dance and neural difference, by measuring brain waves. Among a group of musical theater performers, most with autism, dance and performance have been shown to have increased intra-brain synchrony—that is, neural connections within a performer’s brain—as well as inter-brain synchrony, or connections that occur between multiple people. This suggests that dance can play an important role in things like socializing and reducing anxiety, which are common challenges, Basu said.
Rosary and Flores observed the positive effects of dance on a group of autistic preschool students enrolled in AZARA’s Atypical Dance Initiative. Students usually have trouble concentrating in school during the day, “but when it comes to dancing, they always pay attention and participate,” Rosari said.
While Azara takes a dancer-first approach to inclusivity, most companies focus primarily on the audiences. For example, the New York City Ballet recently hosted a sensory-friendly production of “The Nutcracker” and has another sensory-friendly event (Balanchine’s triple bill) planned for May. Other companies have also implemented this practice, largely as part of the “Nutcracker”. season.
“The audience felt welcome, they felt supported, and they didn’t feel judged,” Megan Gentile, City Ballet’s associate education director, said of last spring’s sensory-friendly performance. “More conversations are being had about how we can make all of our offerings more accessible. This is the new lens that has been put on our work.”
All offerings at Azara are designed with neurodiversity in mind. The Lombard Center for Film and Performing Arts, in New York City, takes a similar approach, with Seats on the Spectrum, an accessibility program designed for ease of implementation in theaters. The pilot, which debuted in October, is available at the New Victory Theater, HERE Center for the Arts, and at Roundabout Theater Company.
“While breakout shows and breakout festivals are great and reach a very large number of people, they don’t reach enough of the population,” said Adrienne Willis, executive and artistic director of Lombreyard. She added that Lumberyard was interested in making accessibility “more economically viable for theaters.”
At many of these events, audiences are offered sensory kits—fidget toys, earplugs, noise-cancelling headphones—and a visual and textual description of what to expect from their time in the theater. There are often designated, less crowded seating areas for neurodivergent viewers, and during the show, the house lights are never completely turned off, lighting and sound effects are toned down, and patrons are welcome to come and go as needed.
These may seem like big changes. But Azara dancer Kimzy said that when some of her friends attend these shows, “they tell me, ‘I barely notice a difference; I didn’t know it was ever so sensory friendly.
“For those who need these changes, it is a lifeline,” she added. It connects you to something you may never be able to watch.
The next generation of dance artists is developing tools to consider neurological difference as well. At the Gloria Kaufman School of Dance at the University of Southern California, Patrick Corbin, an associate professor of dance practice, collaborated with a neuroscientist and occupational therapist, as well as neurodiverse theater artists, to create a course called Dance and Neurodiversity. unite.
By combining science, movement, and community engagement, Corbin hopes students will learn how dance affects the brain and better understand these conditions as a whole.
“We’re developing dance-based strategies, using all of these things, to see how we can learn more about walking in someone else’s shoes,” Corbin said. “Instead of trying to drag autistic people into our world, maybe if we go into their world we can find a bridge.”
As Azara trains, communication is clearly the goal. Each dance piece has a clear meaning or story, and the movements chosen by the choreographers are neither too vague to be understood, nor so literal as to seem trite. The dancers move confidently, with a sense of abandon and flow; They are in their element.
“For me, choreography helps in terms of expression, to be able to portray some feelings, emotions and ideas that are usually difficult to communicate to people,” Rosari said.
“I feel like there are a lot of undiagnosed autistic people in the world of dance who have found it as a means of expression.”