This ballet company prioritizes the mental health of its dancers.

At Azara Ballet, dancers are not expected to make eye contact with the director or choreographer. If troupe members need a quick break from the harsh stage lights during rehearsals, they can take a break. You will also receive clear instructions regarding your hair and makeup well in advance of the performance.

At Azara, the health of our dancers is our top priority. Founded in 2022 by autistic dancers Kate Flowers and Martin Roussale, the company is based in Sarasota and Bradenton, Florida, and has become a haven for neurodivergent performers. . (The company is made up of 10 dancers, but not all of them are neurodivergent.)

“When you're dancing, nonverbal movement expression can be very helpful, as long as it's in a good environment and a safe space,” Flowers said.

Azara addresses a gap in the dance world: the need for spaces where people with autism, ADHD, or other conditions that fall under the broad definition of “neurodivergence” can freely experience the art form. Both anecdotal and empirical evidence suggests a deep relationship between dance and these neurological symptoms. This relationship has become an area of ​​increasing interest for researchers, artists, and performing arts organizations in recent years.

In November, Azara gathered for a run-through of the show “Voices of Azara'' at the Black Box Theater, where the show will soon be held. The atmosphere in the theater was both lively and calm, with dancers warming up, reviewing their steps, and chatting. There seemed to be subdued lighting, a pleasantly cool air, and an innate awareness of the performers' loudness.

To begin rehearsals, Roussale outlined the schedule for the next three hours to the dancers. I then looked through four pieces, all by company members, before receiving my notes. When the dancers performed, the music was never overwhelmingly loud and they never yelled out corrections.

But for the most part, rehearsals didn't seem all that different from rehearsals for any other small dance company. But Rebecca Kimsey, a dancer with autism, said it was the level of humanity and consideration in the studio that made “a world of difference”.

“Martin and Kate have been so accepting and understanding no matter what happens,” she says, adding, “If I'm overstimulated and have days where I wake up with a migraine, It's a thing,” he said.

She further added, “Even if things are going really fast during rehearsals, don't shout out corrections. If you're focused, you might startle or surprise people.” Ta.

Flowers said she always felt drawn to dance. “Especially with autism, having structure is very helpful,” she said. “Dance really offers that. I can understand why I was drawn to dance and why I kept being drawn back.”

Research has validated these experiences. The findings suggest that dance may be well-suited to supplementing the strengths and at the same time alleviating some of the difficulties associated with autism and certain neurological conditions.

Dr Jessica Eccles, a researcher at the Brighton and Sussex School of Medicine in the UK, is studying how some symptoms overlap with hypermobility (a wider range of movement than normal) and creativity. “Attention to detail, memory, passion, thinking outside the box are all probably useful assets for a dancer,” Eccles said. “A large proportion of dancers may be neurodivergent, but they may not be aware of it. They may not have been diagnosed.”

Julia Basso, director of the Embodied Brain Institute at Virginia Tech, further demonstrated the link between dance and neural divergence by measuring brain waves. Among the group of musical theater artists, most of those with autism dance and perform, but they are not limited to intracerebral synchrony, or synchrony not only within the performer's brain, but also between the brains. In other words, it has been shown to enhance the connections made between multiple people. This suggests dance may play an important role in common tasks such as social connection and reducing anxiety, Basso said.

Rutherle and Flowers observed the positive effects of dance on a group of preschool-age autistic students enrolled in Azara's Atypical Dance Initiative. Lusalle said the students typically have a hard time concentrating during the day and school, but “when it comes to dance, they are always attentive and engaged.”

While Azara strives for inclusivity with a dancer-first approach, most companies focus primarily on the audience. For example, New York City Ballet recently hosted a sensory-friendly performance of “The Nutcracker,” and is planning another sensory-friendly event (the Balanchine Triple Bill) in May. Other companies have also adopted this practice, primarily as part of the “Nutcracker” season.

“The audience felt welcomed, they felt supported, they didn't feel judged,” Megan Gentile, City Ballet's associate director of education, said of last spring's sensory-friendly performances. spoke. “There's a lot more discussion going on about how we can make all of our performances a little more accessible. It's introduced a new lens to our work.”

At Azara, every performance is designed with neurodiversity in mind. A similar approach is being taken at New York City's Lumberyard Film and Performing Arts Center with Seats on the Spectrum, an accessibility program designed to be easily implemented in theaters. The pilot, which premiered in October, can be seen at the New Victory Theatre, HERE Arts Center and Roundabout Theater Company.

“Separate performances and separate festivals are great and reach so many people, but they don't reach enough people,” said Lumberyard Executive and Artistic Director Adrian Willis. . She added that Lumberyard is interested in making accessibility “more economically viable for theaters.”

At many of these events, audiences are provided with sensory kit, such as fidget toys, earplugs, and noise-canceling headphones, as well as visual and text-based instructions about what to expect during their time in the theater. provided. There are often designated less crowded seating areas for neurodivergent viewers, and during shows the house lights are never completely dimmed, lighting and sound effects are dimmed, and patrons are You can come and go as needed.

These may seem like big changes. But Azara dancer Kimsey said that when some of her friends attended these performances, “they told me, 'You can hardly tell the difference.'” I didn't know that today was a sensory-friendly day. ”

However, she added: “For people who need change, it's a lifeline. It connects you to something you might never otherwise witness.”

The next generation of dance artists is also developing tools to take neural divergence into account. At the University of Southern California's Gloria Kaufman School of Dance, Patrick Corbin, associate professor of dance practice, is collaborating with neuroscientists, occupational therapists, and neurodiverse theater professionals to Established a course called “Dance and Neurodiversity/''. autism.

Professor Corbin believes that by combining science, exercise, and community engagement, students will learn how dance affects the brain and gain a better understanding of these situations overall. I'm looking forward to it.

“We're thinking about whether we can develop dance-based strategies and use all of them to learn more about walking in someone else's shoes,” Corbin said. “If instead of trying to drag autistic people into our world, we enter theirs, we may find bridges to connection.”

As Azara rehearses, it's clear that connection is the goal. Each dance piece has a clear meaning or story, and the movements chosen by the choreographer are neither so opaque that they are incomprehensible nor so literal that they feel trite. The dancers move with certainty and a sense of abandon and flow. They are coming into their own.

“For me, choreography helps in terms of expression. It allows me to express certain feelings and emotions and ideas that are usually a little difficult to convey to people,” Roussare said.

“I feel like there are a lot of undiagnosed autistic people in the dance world who are finding dance as a means of expression.”