ABA’s Adaptive Dance program is designated for children with Down Syndrome, Autism, physical, mental, emotional challenges, and those who are wheelchair-bound.

Two of our permanent faculty attended the Boston Ballet’s Adapted Ballet Seminar in 2017 and have developed ABA's curriculum combining movement drawn from ballet, character, modern, music and theatre. ABA’s core belief is that expressing your inner thoughts, your dreams, your passion with movement is a driving force that everyone should experience. The freedom to believe in yourself, move without judgement, create, and imagine where there is no right, or wrong way to move.

The Academy of Ballet Arts is wheelchair accessible, and the classes are open to all types of abilities and challenges. After registration is completed, the student is evaluated in the placement class as to physical and emotional needs. Then, in collaboration with the parents, the staff makes an educational plan for the student. Students are mainstreamed into the regular curriculum when they have demonstrated a basic technical level and the confidence to work more independently. 

Adaptive Ballet Classes will begin on Monday, September 9, 2024 

Classes

Adaptive Ballet I:

Class will begin when enrollment reaches 6 students. This class is designed for children with Down Syndrome, and children on the autistic spectrum from the ages of 6-10. The class curriculum includes using ballet steps to improve balance, coordination, expressive arms, jumping, shift of weight, creating shapes in space, interpreting emotions through movement and learning to tell stories using movement vocabulary. The students will also learn character steps and dances. Girls should wear leotards (any color or style), tights and ballet slippers. Boys should wear a t-shirt, shorts, socks and black or white ballet slippers. Mondays 3:30-4:15 PM(arrival time 3:15)

Register for Classes

Adaptive Ballet II:

Class will begin when enrollment reaches 6 students. This class is designed for children on the autistic spectrum and children with Down Syndrome from the ages of 10-14. The class is focused on balance, coordination, creating shapes in space, interpreting words and stories with movement instead of using their voices. The students will be learning ballet steps, character steps and improving reactions to stress through dancing out the emotions. Girls should wear leotards (any color or style), tights and ballet slippers. Boys should wear a t-shirt, shorts, socks and black or white ballet slippers. Mondays 4:30-5:15 PM (arrival time 4:15)

Register for Classes

More About Our Adaptive Ballet Program

My passion for the language of movement and the voice it gives to an individual to express their own thoughts, perspectives and beliefs is what has always given me the ability to envision the dance potential of each person. I founded the Academy of Ballet Arts in 1969 with the idea that if someone wanted to dance then I needed to make it possible for them to dance without regard to the potential of their bodies to adapt to Classical Ballet. I believe very deeply that the only person who can limit our ability to learn is ourselves.

Over the years that the Academy has included special needs students in its regular curriculum and the students have all benefited from the interaction. Everyone developed the ability to see past the things that students struggled with, whether it was physical, intellectual or emotional. Teachable moments occurred in every class and as the students observed other’s struggles, they learned to face their own challenges with persistence and humor. The student’s and teacher’s positive and nurturing attitudes towards the integration of the students have begun to alter the parents’ views of competition and the speedy acquisition of skills. 

My commitment is to the beauty of the arts, how it shapes who we are from the inside out and my belief that everyone needs to experience the arts in their daily lives. Every light that comes into the face of a student when they hear music that speaks to their souls and every smile that is reflected in their bodies when they speak the language of dance in their own words becomes my incentive to create a program that exists beyond my school.

In 2018, the Florida Cultural Arts Division awarded the Academy of Ballet Arts a Diversity and Inclusion Award. The stories associated with the Academy’s Adaptive Ballet Program were chosen to be highlighted in the Cultural Arts Division anniversary tribute to the state of the Arts in Florida.

Read Success Stories

Suzanne Pomerantzeff,
Founder and Artistic Director