A C C E S S I B I L I T Y S T A T E M E N T

F A C I L I T I E S

New Dialect rents and/or utilizes studio and theater space from the following facilities for the purposes of its educational and creative programming known as Dance Dialectics: Metro Parks Centennial Performing Arts Studios, OZ Arts Nashville, Hispanic Family Foundation’s Baila Dance Studio, Harpeth Hall School, DancEast, and Tennessee Performing Arts Center. Each of these facilities meets ADA requirements.

All facilities utilized for Dance Dialectics provide highly visible signage; ramped access to building entrances and exits; wheelchair accessible studios, theaters, and assembly areas with ramped or no step entries and doorways measuring the required minimum 32 inches; accessible restrooms with support bars; and wheelchair accessible water fountains. Designated handicapped parking is available at each location. In the case of multilevel facility Tennessee Performing Arts Center, all studios, theaters, assembly areas, restrooms, and water fountains are accessible on the ground floor, by ramp, or by way of elevator. Tennessee Performing Arts Center also provides wheelchairs at no cost to visitors. Tennessee Performing Arts Center and Harpeth Hall are the only theaters we use for the purposes of Dance Dialectics, and both facilities offer wheelchair and limited mobility seating with adjacent companion seating.

All visiting guest instructors and choreographers for New Dialect's Choreographers' LABs and Intensives will be provided with accessible housing and transportation within a five minute drive from Centennial Performing Arts Studios throughout their stay.

We have compiled a list of accessible, affordable housing and transportation options for Dance Dialectics participants visiting Nashville from other cities, states, and countries. This list is available upon request.

C O M M U N I C A T I O N S

New Dialect's email and mailing addresses are available to the public via the Contact page of our website and via our social media platforms. New Dialect administrative staff monitor all incoming emails throughout the day and respond to requests for general information regarding our programming and/or requests for accommodations within 24 business hours.

Information on class locations, faculty, class descriptions, dates and times are all available via the Classes page of our website. We have enabled a feature that allows Dance Dialectics participants to access Google maps and use their GPS or other mobile device to locate our studio. For students traveling to Nashville from other cities, states, and countries to participate in Dance Dialectics, we have compiled and will provide a list of accessible, affordable housing and transportation options near our studios.

Print materials and informational brochures on Dance Dialectics will be readily available in alternative formats upon request.

All of our Dance Dialectics classes and workshops are designed so that people encompassing a full spectrum of differences and abilities are able to participate to the fullest extent. Our instructors are available thirty minutes before each class / workshop to meet with individuals to discuss their needs / necessary accommodations. Instructors then work with differently abled participants throughout the class to implement any necessary modifications and alternative approaches to the studio space and class material.

For example, those assisted by wheelchairs are encouraged to treat their chairs as a tool of expression and to dance in as much or as little of the space as they like. In the event that a class calls for floor work, they are encouraged to envision a vertical, dimensional plane in front of their chair: this plane then becomes the "floor" with which they can interact. This type of envisioning is a common element of our class instruction. We regularly incorporate the reimagining of perception and spatial dimensions in order to interact with our surroundings and our bodies in a new mode. We welcome those who are differently abled to join with us in this practice of imagination and movement.

As a matter of course, each class begins with an improvisation game that uses imagery driven language prompts to inspire participants to begin moving around the space. Participants, including those who are visually impaired or hard of hearing, use this time to generate a sensory map their surroundings (the surface of the floor, the distance between walls, the lighting, the room's acoustic vibrations) through their varying abilities of touch/sight/sound.

To ensure that all participants are able to comprehend and respond to their prompts, our instructors not only speak their instructions, they also physically (visually) demonstrate their instructions. Our class structure also allows participants to ask their instructors for further clarification of a prompt or to repeat a prompt at any time.

Assistive listening devices, opening captioning, and American Sign Language interpreters are available upon request through our partnership with Tennessee Performing Arts Center.