All are welcome for Dance = Freedom, a special series of classes celebrating movement as freedom of expression.

This event is part of the BRIC OPEN Festival, which aims shine a light on the power of inclusive, participatory arts & media programming to shake up our ideas about who makes and consumes culture, whose voices and stories sit at the center of artistic creation, and how we come together to imagine, and move toward, the future we want.

Ballez radically reimagines the traditionally gender-binaried, exclusive culture of ballet into a site of liberatory, joyful, and inclusive queer play. Shifting the focus away from traditional ideas of virtuosity, participants in this class explore the virtuosity of genderqueer embodiment, practice energetic mirroring, learn inclusive partnering techniques, seek out (and destroy) our culturally constructed biases, and discover new freedom to witness the beauty of one another as we dance to the beats of queer icons!  

Katy Pyle is a choreographer and creator of performance whose works explore fantasy, transformation, queer failure, and the lineage of performance. Before founding the Ballez in 2011, she created evening length works: “Salute to Ex-Best Friends,”asubtout (Pyle & Eleanor Hullihan), Galapagos, 2005; “The Lady Centaur Show,” asubtout, PS 122, 2007; “THE WAY: You Make Me Feel,” Danspace Project at St. Mark’s Church, 2010; and “COVERS,” The Bushwick Starr, 2012. She was a 2013-2015 Artist in Residence at BAX, and has received additional residencies through Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, at Mount Tremper Arts, Rockbridge Artist’s Exchange, the Dragon’s Egg, Abrons Arts Center, and La Mama.

The Ballez is inserting the herstory and lineage of lesbian, queer and transgender people into the ballet canon, through the creation of large-scale story ballets, open classes, and public engagement. Major works include The Firebird, a Ballez, Variations on Virtuosity, a Gala with the Stars of the Ballez and Sleeping Beauty & the Beast. Adult Ballez Class has been ongoing at Brooklyn Arts Exchange since 2011, and Pyle, along with other company members have brought the class to many venues across the country.

NOTE: Capacity at the Dance = Freedom classes is limited, and admission is on a first come, first served basis, whether you have RSVP'ed or not. Please come early to ensure entry.

Additional classes in the Dance = Freedom series include the following:

Urban Bush Women: Dance & Song for Every Body
Unleash Your Duende with Arielle Rosales
Ronald K. Brown/Evidence Community Class with Annique Robertsa??a??a??a??a??a??