Breast Cancer & Ballet: An Introduction to Healing through Dance

Join the Dance Foundation and Forge to learn how ballet can maximize quality of life after a breast cancer diagnosis. In this 4-week series, participants will meet each Friday in a real dance studio and be taught by a real dance instructor about the basics of ballet and how those movements can improve your posture and how you feel in your body after breast cancer.

Dance is for everyone, and moving our bodies can make us feel good in them. This class is open to anyone who has been impacted by breast cancer and is interested in seeing how ballet can be part of their healing. This class is specifically designed for breast cancer patients, survivors and their caregivers / loved ones aged 14 and older.

Materials: No special equipment is required, but you may want to purchase a pair of ballet shoes. Before the series begins, Forge will send out an email with reasonably priced ballet shoe recommendations and other clothing suggestions from the dance instructor. If you have questions about the series or materials before registering, please email [email protected].

Schedule: Breast Cancer and Ballet: An Introduction to Healing will meet in-person weekly on Fridays from 12:30pm-1:30pm at The Dance Foundation from April 21st through May 12th (a 4-week series). Participants are encouraged to attend all 4 sessions. Once you register, that spot is yours for all 4 sessions. No previous experience with dance or ballet is required to participate. These are the session dates for the series:

• Friday, April 21st
• Friday, April 28th
• Friday, May 5th
• Friday, May 12th

Class size is limited to 20 participants so register today if you’d like to attend. For questions, call Angie at 205-990-5373 or email [email protected].

About Our Expert: Melissa Turnage, BA, has over 40 years of experience in dance and arts education. She has directed dance programs in Georgia and Maryland. She is trained in both the Vaganova method and the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus. She has worked in numerous arts and educational institutions and has written dance curriculum for several programs. Her choreographic endeavors include over 30 original children’s ballets as well as various theatrical productions. She has received teacher training in integrated arts curriculum from Lincoln Center, and has done extensive training with teaching artists from the Kennedy Center. As a teaching artist herself, she creates integrated curriculum for the Birmingham Cultural Alliance and the Birmingham Board of Education’s Straight A’s federal grant program. She is an Adjunct Professor of Dance at Birmingham Southern College where she teaches and writes ballet curriculum. She is a teaching artist with ArtCare at UAB Hospital. Melissa is a published short story writer and newspaper journalist.

***This event is free and requires registration***

If you are able to donate any amount to contribute to Forge’s continued efforts to support our local breast cancer community, we greatly appreciate it. Donations can be made on the Forge website: https://forgeon.org/donate

About Forge’s programs:

At Forge, the core of our mission is to offer support, knowledge, strength, and direction for Alabamians impacted by breast cancer. In an effort to continue to safeguard the health of our community and team, Forge is offering virtual learning opportunities that can be accessed from the comfort of your own home, and for any in-person programs we may schedule, we will practice CDC-recommended safety measures to keep our community healthy.

As always, if you have any questions, need resources, or a listening ear, please feel free to communicate with us via the Forge Facebook page, by emailing [email protected], or by calling us at 1-800-811-8925. By registering to attend programs with Forge, you agree to receive further correspondence from us, such as program emails and event reminders.