For the past 20 years, the Colorado Ballet has been working hard to become financially stable and artistically relevant. That work has been successful and has allowed the company to reach more deeply into the community with special programs.
Photojournalist Cheney Orr spent time with participants in one of those programs, Be Beautiful, Be Yourself, for kids ages 5 to 18 with Down syndrome or other intellectual or developmental disabilities. The program, held in the ballet’s Armstrong Center for Dance in Denver, uses creative movement to help them develop kinesthetic and cognitive skills. It also looks like a lot of fun.
Julie Anderson, lead instructor for Be Beautiful, Be Yourself, instructs her young students in creative movement at the Armstrong Center for Dance in Denver on Oct. 5. (Cheney Orr, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)Children participating in Be Beautiful, Be Yourself use colorful fabric to help express themselves in movement. (Cheney Orr, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)A child jumps during a creative movement class included in Be Beautiful, Be Yourself, a ballet program for children with Down syndrome, at the Armstrong Center for Dance. (Cheney Orr, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)Students learn a partner dance during their creative movement class. (Cheney Orr, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)Instructor Julie Anderson demonstrates a movement in a small group seated on the floor. (Cheney Orr, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)A young student dances using basic ballet movements during a class on Oct. 5 at the Armstrong Center in Denver.. (Cheney Orr, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)
Type of Story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Cheney Orr is a photojournalist for The Colorado Sun, via Report for America.
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