Check us out! This is our very FIRST blog post. We want to stay in touch with you, and we also want to show you some behind-the-scenes action at Born Dancing. Be on the lookout for regular updates (Psst! Be sure to follow us on social media!). In the meantime, check out a highlight from our first monthly newsletter…
Have You Met...?
Meet Madeline Charles (Maddie). She was the very first dancer to join our company!
Maddie in Stems, Born Dancing, March 2016 at Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater
(Photo: Nicolle Bennett)
Q: Where are you from?
A: My name is Madeline Charles but everyone calls me Maddie. I was born in St. Louis, Missouri and raised in Milton, Mass., and Bethesda, Maryland. I've lived in NYC since the Fall of 2013. I am 25 years old.
Q: How did you get involved with born dancing?
A: One day I was searching around on Facebook using keywords relating to dance and dancers with disabilities. I messaged Melissa just to let her know how impressed I was with her mission because my sister has cerebral palsy and LOVES music and dance. I first become involved in social work because I noticed as my sister got older (she is two years older than me) that there were less and less programs for her to be a part of. I noticed that Born Dancing included people of all abilities and all ages and was immediately drawn in.
Q: What's one surprising thing you've learned from Born Dancing?
A: I've learned that I don't know everything, haha. Being the sister of a non-verbal woman I sometimes feel like I need to be on the defense at all times, ready to put up my boxing gloves against our ableist world for her. And while that is still true I've learned that what's really needed is just to be a good friend, to show empathy (not sympathy), and to listen to people who have disabilities so that THEIR voice can be heard, not mine.
Q: If you could have dinner with one dancer dead or alive who would it be and why?
A: Twyla Tharp. The reason I moved to NYC was because I fell in love with Paul Taylor's work through a summer dance intensive. Tharp was one of his wildest company members. I find her completely fascinating and heartbreaking. I'd just want to take her to dinner to learn from her and thank her for letting me feel less alone in the way I feel about dance.
Q: Tell me something I don't already know
A: Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday and I drag it out for a full week.