Promoting Freedom and Equality

PODCAST BY SILVA LAUKKANEN In this episode of DanceCast, Silva interviews Jana Meszaros, a DanceAbility instructor in Eugene, OR. Jana describes her small-town upbringing, how she discovered DanceAbility through contact improvisation, and her road to becoming a Master Teacher. She shares her belief in DanceAbility as a tool for creating […]

November 19, 2018  |  Read Article

Communicating More Than Movement: An Interview with Emery Blackwell

BY EMMALY WIEDERHOLT; PHOTOGRAPHS BY GREGORY BARTNING Most of us have a narrow definition of what it means to have a disability; it’s a label often imposed from the outside in. Emery has cerebral palsy and, though he is commonly labeled “disabled,” I have never met a dancer with a […]

November 7, 2016  |  Read Article

The Body You Dance: An Interview with Alito Alessi

BY EMMALY WIEDERHOLT; PHOTOGRAPHS BY GREGORY BARTNING Alito spoke and danced like wind. I sense the wind’s power in what I see moved by it; I feel its scope in its universal affect; I discover its dimension in its varying layers. To meet Alito is to understand the definition of […]

October 26, 2016  |  Read Article

Expanding Dance’s Reach

An Interview with Jana Meszaros BY EMMALY WIEDERHOLT Jana Meszaros is a certified DanceAbility instructor who is passionate about expanding the communities she reaches to include those in rural towns outside Eugene, OR. She shares how she got involved in DanceAbility, its impact, and why it’s important to reach people […]

October 10, 2016  |  Read Article

A Wisdom that Needs to be Expressed

BY EMMALY WIEDERHOLT; PHOTOGRAPHS BY GREGORY BARTNING In a 14-day whirlwind filled with little sleep and lots of caffeine, I travelled with photographer Gregory Bartning from Los Angeles up the coast to Seattle, interviewing 25 dancers and hosting five public events to finish and promote our Dancing Over 50 Project, […]

September 14, 2015  |  Read Article