Jackie, a disabled Black woman, wears a tie-dye shirt and face mask, raises her arms in a graceful pose. Her hair is styled in long twists with colorful clips, and her nails are painted. The moment captures focused movement during a dance rehearsal.

HOW WE Move

A dance intensive created for and by D/eaf and Disabled dancers and centering multiply marginalized (BIPOC, LGBTQIA+) dancers within our communities.

Hector, a disabled Black person, styled their hair in a braided top bun while wearing a brown t-shirt over a black long-sleeve shirt, as well as glasses and a face mask. They place their right hand and right knee on the floor, while their left arm is

India, a disabled Black woman, wears her hair in a half-up, half-down, braided style, while wearing a black face mask, heart earrings, a black top, and is holding a microphone with her left arm.

A diverse group of people posing for a photo in a dance studio, several of them using mobility devices and all wearing face masks

Kayla, a Black disabled woman wearing a grey t-shirt, dark pants, glasses and a face mask, sits on the floor on a kneeling pose, while her arms are stretched above her, slightly on a diagonal. Devin, a disabled Black person, stands diagonal to Kayla,

How We Move is our opportunity as D/eaf and Disabled dancers to figure out what we want to create outside of a mainstream dance lens—while unpacking our own internalized ableism. What’s possible when we stop assimilating to a non-disabled dance world? What happens when we move from the margin to the center? Together, we’re about to find out.

India Harville, Executive Director of Embraced Body and Co-creator of How We Move

kumari, a disabled person, wears a face mask and glasses while sitting on the floor with a blanket over their legs, holding a microphone on one hand and a cardboard with a drawing on the other. They are wearing a black sweater and black socks.

Kayla, a disabled Black woman, wears a face mask and glasses while sitting on the floor with one leg crossed and the other stretched out, while her arms are up in movement with one arm bent and the other stretched out to the side. She is wearing a gr

Hector, a disabled Black person wearing glasses, a face mask, and tie-dye t-shirt over a long-sleeve shirt, sits on a wheelchair while embracing Devin, a disabled Black person wearing a face mask, white t-shirt, and dark pants, while sitting on a cha

JJ, a disabled person, is visible from the back. They wear a white cap, and only their upper body is visible as they hold their arms out in front and above their head, crossing them at the wrists. A yellow clock is visible on the wall to the left.

What is How We Move?

This six month hybrid program combines virtual gatherings with a 10-day in-person intensive in New York City, providing space and opportunity for multiply marginalized D/eaf and Disabled dancers to move together, collaborate, and build cross-disability community.

How We Move will provide a rigorous access framework. Together, we’ll cultivate opportunities on our collective terms and build power towards a transformation of the colonial, eugenicist, and ableist lineages still present in our field.

APPLICATION FAQs

How We Move is for multiply marginalized D/eaf and Disabled dance artists.
We define disability broadly:
- Mobility Disabilities
- Neurodivergence
- Mental Health Disabilities
- Developmental Disabilities
- Intellectual Disabilities
- Sensory Disabilities
- Chronic Illness
- Chronic Pain
- Other Disabilities
We define multiply marginalized as being D/eaf or Disabled + being BIPOC, queer, trans, or other marginalized identity points.
You can be at any stage of your dance journey, as long as you:
- Are interested in learning about cross-disability solidarity and dancemaking
- Are willing to share a workshop about your practice to your peers
- Have a commitment to building disability community
- Want to build a longer-term relationship with a cohort
- Have an awareness of your own access needs and want to learn more about access
- Are interested in disability aesthetics
We will provide some combination of the following access, based on what is requested by program participants.
For in-person events
- Live audio description/audio description
- American Sign Language (ASL) for all group activities, including meals
- CART
- Wheelchair accessible
- Accessible transportation
- Accessible and gender neutral restrooms
- Masking and Covid precautions
- Soft lighting options
- Low-sensory space
- Fidget toys
- Accessible seating options
- Breaks
For virtual events
- CART
- ASL
- Transcripts
- Recording
- Audio description
- Camera optional
- Breaks
Each participant will receive a $2,000 stipend.
An additional $1,000 stipend is available for Personal Care Attendants (PCA) who attend the in-person intensive with a participant.
How We Move will also cover housing, travel, ground transportation, and meals for all participants and Personal Care Attendants (PCAs) of the in-person intensive.
How We Move will cover access costs for all virtual gatherings and the in-person intensive.
We are committed to prioritizing the centering of BIPOC, Queer, and trans D/eaf and Disabled dancers in the intensive; including the centering of QTBIPOC D/eaf and Disabled artists in all leadership roles.
We are committed to creating spaces for cross-disability experience and collaboration, aiming to undo any hierarchy that positions a singular disability category as the representation of our community’s multiplicity.
We are committed to dismantling the gatekeeping that deems some of us legible due to professional/educational opportunities many of us are denied access to. Our space is open to anyone who experiences dance/movement as a central practice in their lives, regardless of training level or previous institutional support.
We are committed to providing professional development opportunities both within the intensive and in the field as a whole, including collaboration with non-disabled accomplices looking to expand their access practices and training Disabled artists to become facilitators, teachers, and mentors themselves.
We are committed to providing the space for artists to build relationships with one another and to prioritizing addressing the most pressing issues raised by participants in the intensive.
We are committed to providing a blueprint and guidance for other artists seeking to create similar intensives within their own cities and communities.
2025: Applications
- September 2: Applications open
- September 25, 4-6PM PT: Virtual Applicant Q&A session
- October 15, 5pm PT: Applications close
2026: Virtual sessions and in person intensive
- March 21, 10:30am-1:30pm PST: Virtual Pre-Meeting #1
- April 30, 2pm-4pm PST: Virtual Pre-Meeting #2
- May 1: 2pm-4pm PST: Virtual Pre-Meeting #3
- May 2, 10am-12pm PST: Virtual Pre-Meeting #4
- June 21: Arrive & settle in New York City
- June 22-July 1: How We Move Dance Intensive in New York City (We recognize that Disabled energy levels vary. We will build an intensive schedule together that works for all attendees.)
- July 2: Travel back home
- July 16, 2pm-5pm PST: Virtual Post Meeting

ApplICATIONS FOR tHE NEXT COHORT OPEN September 2, 2025!

India, a disabled Black woman is wearing a face mask, long earrings, her hair is half-up, half-down in a braided style, while she wears a maroon tank top and holds her arms up in a "W" shape to her side. There is a white paper taped on the wall diago

Mer, a videographer, is documenting content during rehearsals. She wears a face mask, green tank top, black pants, and is holding a camera with a microphone attached to the top of it. The camera has a strap that goes around her neck.

JJ, a disabled person, wears glasses, a face mask, and a colorful shirt, while holding out a microphone with their right hand in front of Kayla, a disabled Black woman wearing glasses, a face mask, a gray t-shirt, and her hair in a braided, top bun.

JJ, a disabled person, sits on the left side, wearing an open button shirt over a white t-shirt, grey shorts, a white cap, glasses, and a face mask. Their right arm is bent towards their side, with their right hand touching the back of their head, wh

MEET THE TEAM

India Harville, founder of Embraced Body posing with an eager smile. She is a Black woman with long locs. She is wearing a black shirt and purple cardigan.

she/her

As a Disability Justice activist, performance artist, public speaker, and somatics practitioner, India Harville has made it her mission over the past 20 years to open people's minds to the wonder of their own bodies as a vehicle for growth and transformation, both personal and collective.
India has danced with Sins Invalid, Dance Exchange, California State East Bay, The Queer Arts Festival, the Black Spirit Dance Collective, Mouthwater Festival, and Movement Liberation. She’s a two-time recipient of the Access Movement Play Residency funded by Mellon and is currently working on a one-woman show, Liminal. She’s certified as a dance instructor in: NIA, Zumba, Dancing Freedom, and DanceAbility, where she is both a Master Teacher and Master Trainer.
In 2016, she founded what is now known as Embraced Body, a Disability Justice and inclusive arts organization that began by providing accessible movement classes to Disabled communities. Since then, they’ve made disability-affirming dance funded by major philanthropic organizations, while also consulting on accessibility and Disability Justice.
The intersection of India’s own identities as an African American, queer, Disabled/chronically ill, femme, cis woman informs all her work. No matter what she is doing, she sets forth the example that however our bodies show up in the world, they are perfect, worthy of existence, and capable of magic.

Kayla Hamilton is a Black woman with short black hair pulled up. She is wearing glasses as she smiles eagerly. She is wearing a red shirt with white markings..

she/her

Kayla Hamilton is a Texas-born, Bronx-based dancer, performance maker, educator, consultant, and artistic director of Circle O—a cultural organization uplifting Black Disabled and other multiply marginalized creatives.
She has developed & designed access-centered programming for the Mellon Foundation, Movement Research, DanceNYC, and UCLA, and is a co-director of Angela’s Pulse/Dancing While Black.
Kayla is a Jerome Hill Artist Fellow, Pina Bausch Foundation Fellow, United States Artist Disability Futures Fellow, NEFA National Dance Project Production Grant recipient, and Bronx Cultural Visions Fund recipient. Her work has been presented at the Whitney Museum, Gibney, Performance Space NY, New York Live Arts and Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance. Kayla was also part of the Bessie award winning ensemble Skeleton Architecture.
As an educator, Kayla co-developed ‘Crip Movement Lab’ with fellow disabled artist Elisabeth Motley—a pedagogical framework centering cross-disability movement practices. She also worked as a K-12 public school special education teacher in NYC for 12 years.

they/them

JJ Omelagah (they/them) is the Program Director, Access Doula, and Healing Artist for Embraced Body and the founder of Sounds of Kayode.
With two decades of experience in human services and healthcare, JJ brings a unique perspective on care. They provide crucial access support and education while contributing to the organization's overall operations.
As a transgender sound artist, JJ’s mission is to create vibrant frequencies resonating with collective care, healing, and transformation. Each note contributes to the co-creation of a sonic environment where energies converge, intertwine, and uplift. They’ve performed at events such as SF Pride and the National Queer Arts Festival.
JJ studied at Howard University and City College of San Francisco and holds a certification in Project Management from the University of Arizona. They are also a trained Circle Sing Facilitator, Reiki practitioner, Orisha priest, and a committed advocate for Disability Justice and LGBTQIA+ rights. With comprehensive experience in Access Doulaship, project management, customer service, case management, conflict resolution, and volunteer management, JJ brings a wealth of knowledge to their work in access, care, and community building.

Jesenia is an indigenous woman with a red faux hawk, wearing black and white glasses, red lipstick, jean jacket and white shirt. Pictured on light grey circle.

she/any

Jesenia (Jess–N–ee–Ya) is a queer first-generation Indigenous-Venezuelan-American, AutiHD (Autistic & ADHD), living with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome.
She is an artist, community builder and organizer, disability advocate, scientist, cultural producer and activist. Her approach is rooted in anti-racism, decolonizing, disability justice, and accessible design.
Jesenia founded One Free Community, an online community center helping decolonizing people connect and build mutual aid initiatives together.
Jesenia founded NeuroSpicy Networking to help neurodiverse professionals network and find jobs and runs a consulting business of the same name.
She serves as a Communications Producer with Calling Up Justice and regularly teaches workshops on conflict resolution, access inclusion, creating neuro-affirming spaces and more.
Jesenia is a 2024 Emerge Fellow with the Longmore Institute. She also engages in disability advocacy with Women Enabled International.

Ziiomi, a Black femme with a gingerbread skin tone and a short blonde fade laughs, looking away from the camera. They wear a sleeveless white tank top, showcasing their jewelry: a lip piercing, skull septum, and two nose rings. light grey background.

they/them/themme

Ziiomi Law (Zee-o-me) is an embodied et cetera, period!
A professional dancer & performer, arts administrative careworker, writer, community consultant, death doula, producer, model, and actor, previously nomadically based nowhere creating everywhere, currently re-rooting back home out of Atlanta, GA.
They are a Blackqueer non-binary icon who sweats possibility & oozes pleasure.
Zii was a proud member of the 6 time Lucille Lortel nominated, New York Times Critic Pick, cast of the Off-Broadway production (pray) in 2023.
Their movement lineages include, Urban Bush Women as a New York Van Lier Fellow, MBDance and SLMDances as a company member, and Atlanta Ballet and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater as a scholarship recipient, to name a few.
They are most fulfilled when collaborating on projects that feel like soul food. Ziiomi believes if it ain’t a full body YES, it’s a no! You can find themme luxuriating at the intersections of both/and.

Movement Research, founded in 1978, is one of the world’s leading laboratories for the investigation of dance and movement-based forms. As a creative incubator for artists and emerging ideas, Movement Research provides space and resources for adventurous dance. Valuing the individual artist, their creative process and their vital role within society, Movement Research is dedicated to the creation and implementation of free and low-cost programs that nurture and instigate discourse and experimentation. Movement Research strives to reflect the cultural, political and economic diversity of its moving community, including artists and audiences alike.

In January 2019, Movement Research moved into its first permanent home at 122 Cultural Center. In 2024, Movement Research broke ground on the build-out of its two studio spaces located in 122CC to create: two dance studios to house MR programs and to serve artists and the community with subsidized rates for rehearsals, practice and convenings; a vestibule outside of the studios that offers a space to gather, stretch and converse; a resource room to provide meeting and lounge space for artists, and access to MR’s library and publications.

PrESS

Press Release: Aug 5, 2025

Dance Magazine

How We Move Offers a New Kind of Intensive Designed for Disabled and Multiply Marginalized Artists

READ THE ARTICLE
Broadway World

Embraced Body Announces How We Move Program

Read the article
Dance Informa

Embraced Body Announces How We Move Program

Read the article
thINKing DANCE

When Something Does Not Exist, We Must Create It

Read the Article