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DanceAbility breaks boundaries A DanceAbility troupe gives a performance. Photo courtesy of www.danceability.com Thursday Aug 25, 2016 at 2:00 AM John DarlingFor the Tidings DanceAbility is coming to town. This unique nonprofit from Eugene educates people with and without disabilities through dance and movement — and seeks, in a five-day workshop over two weekends, to train teachers to work across all boundaries of ability, to reduce prejudice and enhance diversity in dance and, actually, in all fields of life. Its creator, Alito Alessi, leader of the Ashland training, works to dissolve the identification of dancers as disabled or not, so each person is respected as an equal individual, he says. This is the first time the training has been offered in Ashland. The organization, he notes, has worked 29 years to certify 500 teachers in 40 countries to work with all disabilities. “They learn to become teachers of this method and identify the common denominators,” he says, “like where is the starting point for people to learn movement, to experience their own bodies, to develop non-verbal relationships and become an equal part of their community, learning fitness and … taking that into relationships.” Alessi adds, “All movement is language. The body is speaking. All bodies speak. We take that into a conversation, a relationship, open to the natural expression of your own body. We take it into the atmosphere of the community where all movement is equal and validated. It’s also fun.” Alessi began exploring "mixed-abilities dance" in the late 1980s. His training of more than 500 teachers in the DanceAbility method has reached tens of thousands of individuals in Oregon, the U.S. and in more than 25 countries. DanceAbility International performers from Eugene have wowed audiences in recent years at Oregon Shakespeare Festival Green Shows. The teacher training course provides basic DanceAbility exercises and theory for immediate application for those who want to lead movement improvisation and mixed-abilities inclusive dance, according to its website, www.danceability.com. DanceAbility is funded by grants from the Oregon Community Foundation, Oregon Cultural Trust, and Wheeler Foundation with operating support from Lane Arts Council and Oregon Arts Commission. Reduced-tuition scholarships are offered, especially to those outside the I-5 corridor. Alessi was awarded the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship for his contributions to increasing diversity in dance. DanceAbility International was featured on OPB’s Oregon Art Beat. For more information, call Alito Alessi at 541-636-8095 or Kathryn Gaines at 541-731-1643, or email [email protected]. The DanceAbility teacher orientation runs Sept. 16-18 and 23-25 at Dancing People Company, 310 Oak St. For more information and registration, go to www.danceability.com or call 541-357-4982. John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected].