Adaptive BrainDance (ONLINE)
Children & Teens | This class is completed
Adaptive BrainDance is for students of all abilities/disabilities. This creative dance class is filled with mindful support and open spaces to develop body awareness and experience social-emotional learning. The neurodevelopmental movement patterns of the BrainDance bring focus to our bodies and minds. We celebrate personal creativity and uniqueness as we navigate movement together. There are opportunities in class to reflect, share, and participate in active, ongoing conversations about how our bodies individually experience movement. We collectively investigate dance as an internal and external experience using supportive language, images, storytelling, and visualization to guide us. Participants are welcome to bring support in the form of family or staff to aid their participation.
- This class is taught online over Zoom.
Bri Wilson
Bri Wilson (she/her) is a dancer, choreographer, and educator based in Seattle. Originally from northwest Michigan, her creative work braids the elements of writing, movement, and nature into compelling, curious, and narrative-driven performances. As a performer in Seattle, Bri has worked with The Three Yells, Elia Mrak, and Marlo Martin + badmarmarDANCE, among others. She has presented her own work at 12 Minutes Max, Full Tilt Dance Festival, LAUNCH, and Seattle International Dance Festival. As an educator Bri teaches holistic modern and ballet technique with a focus on rigorous exploration and play. She holds a BFA from the Alonzo King LINES Ballet BFA Program at Dominican University of California, has received training in Brain-Compatible Dance Education from CDC, and completed the Teaching Artist Training Lab from ArtsWA in 2022. Bri is currently earning her MFA in Dance from Hollins University.
Joel Nyland
Joel has been dancing since age 3 and has been a leader in our Adaptive Dance program since it began. Joel shares: “I am a twenty-three year old dancer and song writer. I have danced mostly in my imagination my whole life because my brain functions differently and my body does not follow its instructions. Learning the BrainDance has increased my ability to move my body. I love helping others see the power of dance.”
A daily advocate for the spelling community, Joel is a “Spellebrity Ambassador” for the International Association for Spelling as Communication (I-ASC). Joel spells, “I am proud to use a letterboard to communicate” to advocate that nonspeaking people need to be recognized as intelligent human beings. Joel’s words and actions remind others to be kind and useful. He has performed his original songs in the Neurolyrical Café and at Boards & Chords. His first full album, Presume Competency, featuring Joel’s songs with contributions by Caden Rainey is available on Amazon Music and iTunes. His second album, Sounds of Gratitude, is available on many platforms including YouTube, Apple Music, and Spotify.