Accessibility, Inclusion & Safety with Arts of Movement

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Divergence Dance Festival is leading the way in inclusive, empowering, and culturally connected dance experiences, ensuring that Brazilian Zouk is accessible to dancers of all abilities. This work sample features our instructors dancing with a dedicated Zouk dancer with cerebral palsy, who has trained with at least 12 of our festival teachers. Her presence at our events showcases how adaptive dance enriches the entire community, increasing creativity, awareness, and deepening the understanding of connection in social dance.

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Beyond individual inclusion, Divergence is expanding accessibility in meaningful, systemic ways. We are launching new partnerships with the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the Texas School for the Deaf, bringing Zouk workshops that emphasize rhythm, spatial awareness, and partner communication to students. Our programming also incorporates certified DanceAbility instructors, ensuring that all dancers—regardless of mobility or sensory needs—can fully participate and thrive in dance spaces.

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Divergence also prioritizes language accessibility, with all marketing materials provided in Portuguese and Spanish. Since all of our festival teachers are fluent in Portuguese, a dedicated Spanish translator is present at every event, making our workshops and discussions fully bilingual and accessible to Austin’s diverse Latinx and international communities.

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In addition to accessibility efforts, Divergence is deeply committed to safety and consent in social dance spaces. Festival co-organizer Sabrina Ghelardi founded the first Social Dance Safety & Consent Council in Austin, bringing together instructors, community leaders, and advocates to create policies that ensure dance events are inclusive, safe, and respectful for all participants. Divergence further supports this mission by hosting an Accessibility & Inclusion Networking Event, where organizers and participants share strategies to make social dance spaces safer, more welcoming, and culturally responsive.

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By integrating accessibility, language inclusion, and proactive safety initiatives, Divergence Dance Festival is not just creating space for diverse dancers—it is shaping the future of social dance through equity, empowerment, and meaningful cultural connection.