I believe that movement is important because it connects us all to our bodies. This is a hard thing for a lot of disabled people. We’ve often been disconnected from them by trauma, therapies and discrimination due to disability, racism, or other things many of us face. All this leads to more pain and a sense of overwhelm around our bodies and our worth.
I have looked at a lot of movement certifications over the past three years because I see a need for help with navigating things like this in an honest, calm and disability positive way.
Many programs had too much of a weight loss and fitness/self-improvement vibe for me to feel comfortable and safe with them myself, let alone offer them as part of my services. Some were way too focused on the “adaptive” of adaptive dance, which feels to me a lot like a “specialized services to the handicapped” scene I know I and a lot of other people would singlehandedly dismantle if we could. Still others were focused on seriously complex moves I can’t follow as a dyscalculic or do as a wheelchair user.
Enter Groove. Groove is a simple, fun dance class for adults where people are united in a move but add their own style, so everyone does the move somewhat differently. It is inclusive by nature, since everybody just does a move in their own way and doesn’t copy a teacher.
I first discovered Groove about a year and a half ago and took the necessary classes but couldn’t set up the class because my back broke and I couldn’t use my wheelchair to dance.
So I’m trying again. I just completed the training again and am looking for people to join. I hope this will be fun for you who want to join and it helps me earn my certification. That requires me to do six classes and film one to send in for review. You don’t have to attend more than one, though you can if you like. Classes are free during my getting certified, as it is practice time for me, and 12 dollars a class after that. This will be over Zoom, and I hope to start in November. It will be 45 minutes. There was not interest in Musikgarten right now, so I’m holding off on offering that and doing this instead.
For more information on Groove, please visit:
http://www.theworldgroovemovement.com
If you would like more information or to sign up, please email me at disabilityintersection@startmail.com If joining, please tell me when the best times for you to come are.
Thanks!
Lara