At first glance, there’s nothing special about the Sunday-morning adaptive dance classes at Ballet Academy East (BAE). A studio, a teacher, music, a smattering of young students trying to do ballet and occasionally misbehaving—these are common ingredients in any children’s dance class. But look longer and you’ll see there is something special here, starting with the teacher’s patience and kindness as she works a quiet magic with her students—special needs children with autism, development delays, sensory sensitivities, or Down’s syndrome.
Mackenzie Fey, 28, is a model ballerina for her young charges: tall and graceful, with dramatic eyes and a regal, pointed nose. But that’s not the point. In Fey’s class, children run around, make noise, bang on the piano, crawl across the floor, don’t follow instructions—and it’s OK. These things register with Fey, helper teacher Lauren Cadle, and class pianist Rich Klessig in the way that gentle breezes might register with people out for a walk on a spring morning. The children are having a grand time and gaining strength, balance, coordination, social skills, and confidence as they complete the exercises.
Fey studied at BAE herself before training and performing at the Colorado Ballet and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, where faculty members Jamie Murphy and Kaila Lewis asked her to assist with the school’s pilot adaptive dance class. Working mostly with teenagers, Fey felt inspired by the students there. “It was amazing to see their progress, how they embraced it,” she says. One tween who had suffered a stroke was using the class for rehabilitation, the emphasis on bilateral movement in dance being particularly helpful for her hemiparesis.
Five years later, Fey was back in New York City, at BAE, teaching in the children’s division when COVID hit. “The pandemic turned every dance class into a sort of adaptive dance class: You had to adapt to small screens, small spaces, not having a barre,” she says. But isolation also brought time and space for reflection. Fey began asking herself, “What kind of class do I want to teach? What kind of teacher do I want to be?” Remembering the inspiration she felt working with special needs students, Fey emailed BAE founder and director Julia Dubno to ask about starting an adaptive dance class. Dubno’s reply was an immediate and enthusiastic “Yes.”
Dubno sees adaptive dance as “a way to expand our dance community and share the power and joy of dance,” and she knew Fey was the right person to get the program up and running. There were her personal qualities of warmth and patience, but also a creative energy and drive: “Mackenzie is always studying her craft, honing the many facets of what makes a successful teacher,” says Dubno.
It started with one class. Four students then became eight. The decision was made to split into two classes to better address the students’ individual needs and create room for the program to expand. Fey hopes to add new students each year while continuing to explore greater freedom of movement with her current students.
If there’s a secret sauce in what Fey and BAE are cooking up it’s the YDD (Young Dancer Division) curriculum, developed over 45 years at BAE. “Many gifted teachers have left their mark on this unique and beautiful program,” says Dubno. The methodology uses toys and puppets but also songs that accompany each exercise. “I don’t even know who came up with the songs, we just all learn them,” says Fey. “At first I was insecure about it. I asked Rich to sing with me.” She needn’t have been—Fey has a nice singing voice, a real asset in any kind of early childhood education. According to her, “the songs really help the children learn the exercises and maintain consistency from week to week.”
Parents are always welcome in the studio, having an important role to play in communicating their children’s needs, regulating their emotions, and helping with hands-on adjustments. In fact, BAE’s parents have formed a small community. Fey counts this as one of the program’s successes. The assistant teachers and class pianist are also important members of the team. “Don’t try to go it alone,” Fey cautions.
So what advice does Fey have for teachers or studio owners looking to start an adaptive dance class? “The need is there,” she says. “Parents of special needs children are looking for extracurriculars.” As for teaching qualifications, “You can get a degree in art therapy, but I don’t feel that’s necessary for the age and population I work with,” Fey says. According to her, an experienced ballet teacher can acquire the baseline knowledge and vocabulary needed to start an adaptive dance class at a weekend workshop (she completed one through Boston Ballet). Beyond that, it’s a matter of getting your feet wet by assisting or observing, then just diving in. Of course one needs to have patience with special needs students, but teachers should also have patience with themselves: “Give yourself the grace to learn, adjust, and adapt,” Fey says. “Ballet is super-structured, super-rigorous. You just have to let go of some of that structure, and see where it goes.”
“It’s not as scary or overwhelming as people think,” Fey adds. “Have an open heart, lead with kindness, and embrace every student with warmth.”
The post Mackenzie Fey’s Adaptive Dance Classes at Ballet Academy East Are Special appeared first on Dance Teacher.