Ballet for Non-Dancers

Saturday 1 February, 2025
6 - 7:30pm, Stage

£6 full price / £4 concession / Free for those with income support.

This event accompanies the New Contemporaries exhibition at the ICA.

Edith and Mya welcome you to join the world of Ballet for Non-Dancers where the world is our stage and we always aim to look and feel free rather than beautiful.

We draw from the people, sounds, trends, and concepts we are currently surrounded by, both online and in real life. Ballet for Non-Dancers investigates poses, shapes, and dances done by everyday people. We urge everyone to explore their movement journeys with play, culture, and experimentation as tools to push the boundary of who can identify as a ‘dancer’.

We sign off all of our work as ‘Your rebel ballerinas in the everyday world’, which we use to challenge understandings of identity in the public versus the private. On the stage versus in one’s bedroom. We ask you to reflect on what already makes you a dancer and how you can move with intention as a form of resistance for collective catharsis.

We believe if you have a body you are a dancer. We invite you to explore new intentionalities in your movement practice through visual, verbal, and sonic inspiration. In this workshop we will stretch, move, dance, crawl, jump and grind to a presentation of dance moments in cinema from the most iconic to the lesser known.

Together, we reflect on how we can use everyday dancing on screen for personal inspiration and physical liberation off screen. Expect Flashdance (1983) meets Babygirl (2024) meets Nowhere (1997)...

Running Order & Accessibility Notes:

• Please note that the event will begin with a 20 minute soft arrival and 10 minute introduction. We encourage you to join us at 6 for a warmup as the class will begin promptly at 6:30.
• Please wear clothes you feel comfortable moving in.
• For this event partner dancing will be offered and encouraged, but is completely optional. Feel free to bring someone you are comfortable moving with.
• Please note this space will utilize bright lights, loud music, and moving images.

The Artists

Mya is a Chicago-raised, London-based curator exploring spatial narratives at the intersections of Black archives, sound, and movement. Edith is a New York-raised, London based visual artist and anthropologist whose practice examines emotion, identity and unapologetic self-expression. T ogether, they use subculture as a tool in workshops, publications, and exhibitions to create new community spaces for movement, play, and experimentation.

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