When: Every Thursday 6pm-7:30pm

Cost: Sliding scale: $7 - $15, pay at the door. (Exact cash, Venmo, or PayPal)

No one turned away for lack of funds! Guest spots available by request.

Description: All-levels open ballet class

If your relationship with ballet is … complicated. Whether you’re a dancer, a “former” dancer, or just someone who wants to move.

The goal of dance practice (a constant work in progress) is that we gather and rediscover the joy of ballet while actively rejecting all the unhealthy/problematic things that come with it: the white supremacy, the classism and ableism, the body stuff, the gender stuff. What I value in this space is the fact that you want to dance. So I want to create a safe and sacred space to dance together, learn from each other, and practice kindness and patience with our bodies.

All are welcome. I want to empower us to find autonomy in movement and work toward rejecting the exclusionary aspects of this form. Ballet is but a tool; we can take what we like and leave the rest.

What to expect: We will work through a structure based on, but not beholden to a ballet class, with smaller actions at the barre moving into larger actions in the center. I encourage vocal participation and taking up all our space — we'll discuss our observations, our habits, our thoughts, and work toward giving ourselves permission to reject or move past all the negative associations that come with a traditional ballet practice.

Bio: celine s. kiner is a journalist, designer, & artist whose work is largely informed by lifelong movement research. She aims to tell the story of the artist through process and context, while holding true to the integrity and intention of the work itself. celine is an alumna of USC Kaufman’s inaugural class and has performed works by Grimes, Forsythe, Cerrudo, Kylian, and more. Currently, you can find her work in digital and print at Nom de Pixel, Diydancer Magazine, LA Dance Chronicle, and more.

Accessibility Note: I offer accessibility accommodations, and am working on making this a space where everyone can access balletic framework rather than a specific aesthetic. Please email me or fill out the form while registering if you want to talk about how we can make this class accessible for you.

The space is located on the 2nd floor with one flight of stairs directly up from the entrance. Elevator access is available; please email pieterpasd@gmail.com prior to event if you will be using it. The elevator is spacious enough for any mobility device and the 2nd floor space is free of any steps or mobility barriers. There are no automated doors in the building.

There are two all-gender restrooms with three private stalls and a urinal. Each restroom has one stall accessible for mobility device users.

Free parking is available directly behind our building at 2412 Workman Street. There are two additional free city lots south of Broadway on Workman Street. There is also ample metered parking in the neighborhood.

Have questions or need additional accommodations? Email pieterpasd@gmail.com and we will do our best to assist you.