For new blind and visually-impaired students:
Dark Room Ballet Introductory Level Classes will run as a scholarship-based program.
If you are a current or returning Dark Room Ballet Intro student, your tuition-free access to class does not change.
Introducing The Dark Room Ballet Intro Level Scholarship Program
Dark Room Ballet Intro Level Class is a series of eight classes that introduces students to the most common ballet vocabulary that they would need to know in order to participate in Dark Room Ballet Open Level Class.
The class introduces students to necessary anatomical concepts like turnout, torso stability, foot sensitivity and mobility, sightless balancing, and the use of a taped floor for orientation.
No prior knowledge of dance or movement is required, but this course is taught at the university level and is structured like a one-semester college course, which means that each individual class contains considerable new information, and the eight classes are cumulative.
How do I apply for the Dark Room Ballet Intro Level Scholarship Program?
- Meet the Criteria: You are a blind or visually impaired person over age 18 who has not studied Dark Room Ballet Intro before, or you are a working dance or movement educator who needs to learn pedagogical self-audio description and blind-specific dance techniques in order to make your own classes accessible to blind and visually impaired people.
- Fill out the Scholarship Application: Request a Dark Room Ballet Intro Scholarship Application by sending an email to info@darkroomballet.com; you will receive an email-based application in response. You must answer all of the questions in the application by the due date. The current application due date is September 5, 2023 in order to join Dark Room Ballet Intro on September 9! You may answer the questions in textual or in audio format. The application should take no more than fifteen minutes to complete.
- Schedule your Scholarship Interview: After you submit your application, you will receive an email with a selection of dates and times so that you can schedule your scholarship interview with Krishna. This interview can take place over the phone, on Zoom, or on Skype, and will take no more than fifteen minutes. You will be notified about whether you won your scholarship at the end of your interview.
I won the Dark Room Ballet Intro Scholarship! What do I need to do now?
- Come to Class: You must attend the first class of the eight class cycle. If you do not attend the first class, your scholarship is immediately revoked; however, you will be able to apply for the next cycle. The first day of the upcoming cycle is Saturday, September 3. You must either come to class on Zoom every Saturday, or if you miss class, you must watch the video of class and answer the comprehension questions pertaining to that class before the next week’s class. Failure to either come to class or study the video results in loss of the scholarship. Losing the scholarship means that you may not return to class that cycle.
- Study: Dark Room Ballet Intro is designed for adult learners who understand their own learning processes. In particular, take advantage of Question and Answer time at the end of class and talk to Krishna about the movement ideas you want to review! If you know that you’re unsure about something, don’t hesitate! Ask her right away! If you need time to reflect after class, Krishna always sends out a music email with YouTube links to the songs she used in class. You can hit reply to the music email and ask your question any time during the week. Try things out, test out different types of tape, experiment with your turnout, ask for help, take an inquisitive approach to learning. Remember, Krishna’s not watching. It’s just you in the Dark Room, you’re safe to develop yourself as a mover there; make mistakes, use your imagination, and mess around. This is the best way to study.
- Graduate: If you complete a whole cycle of Dark Room Ballet Intro, and you either came to every class or made up all of your missed classes with videos and comprehension questions, you graduate! That means that you are free to take any Dark Room Ballet technique class, Open Level or Intro, for the rest of your life!