Young Dance has been at the forefront of Dance & Disability work in the Twin Cities for the past 20 years. In Summer 2026, we hosted a number of events that brought together artists, teachers, performers, and thinkers, of all abilities, from around the country to join us in learning, sharing and, most importantly, dancing.
Regional Gathering on Dance Education & Disability
On July 24 & 25, 2026, Young Dance was honored to host a Regional Gathering on Dance Education and Disability: A Practice of Belonging, in our studio space in St Paul.
Part of a national series of gatherings supported by Art Spark Texas and the National Endowment for the Arts, this two-day event featured workshops, discussions, collaborative think tanks, movement experiences, and performances centered on how dance can create spaces where everyone belongs.
Presentations included:
- Daniel Grove and Aileen Norris Dreaming and Defying: Dynamic Disability in Dance
- Taja Will Writing an Access Rider or Receiving One: Advocacy Tools
- Gretchen Pick Writing Curriculum Think Tank
- Pushmakers Pushing the Boundaries: Cultivating Community Leadership in Disability Dance (Virtual presentation)
- Petra Kuppers Crip Drifts: An Eco Soma Sensing of Our Communal Space
- Curio Dance Launching a Dance Troupe for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities: A Collaboration Between an Occupational Therapist, Professional Dancer, and Self-Advocate
- Stephanie Heit Mad Conductors
- Kairos Alive! Kairos Alive! Dancing Heart™ Workshop: Neuro Arts and Nature
- Scott Artley Consulting A Field Guide to Disability Models in the Wild: mental models of disability and how they shape the everyday practice of access
- Feel the Beat Body Tapping: Rhythm You Can Feel (Virtual presentation)
- Dreamstorming Access A Creative Pedagogy Centering Access and Belonging
- Silva Laukkanen and Bradford Chin Reflection and Discussion of Next Steps
This gathering was a continuation of Art Spark Texas’ barrier-free dance education research, launched in 2021, and follows the national hybrid convening held in San Marcos, Texas (October 2024), focused on expanding access for people with disabilities. Learn more at: https://www.artsparkdance.org/refocusing-dance-education/
Event Photos
Photo credit: Bradford Chin
DanceAbility Teacher Certification Training
In partnership with DanceAbility International, Young Dance is hosting an 120-hour Teacher Certification Training facilitated by Michaela Knox, DanceAbility Master Trainer.
DanceAbility Teacher Certification is for people who want to teach integrated groups in dance, improvisation, and movement arts, or learn a model for facilitating communities that fosters inclusive participation.
The course covers well-defined methods and techniques for teaching, but there is not a stagnant set of rules. It is an approach to designing movement practices that allows anybody and everybody’s movement to emerge, thereby facilitating individual and group expression.
This course will prepare participants to teach DanceAbility classes for any population, to create mixed-abilities dance choreography, provide leadership and development skills that can enable participants to create organizations in their own communities, and serve as a prerequisite for the Master Teacher and Master Trainer Courses.
This course is taught in three modules:
- Module 1: July 14 to 17 & 20 to 23, 2026
- Module 2: October 15 to 18, 2026
- Module 3: July 7 to 9 & 12 to 16, 2027
Photos from Module 1
Photos courtesy of Young Dance
