The founding director of BalletAfterDark, Tyde-Courtney Edwards, is bent of telling her story and letting those who may be in the same situation know that there are options. Edwards is a classically trained ballerina, art model and a survivor of sexual assault living in Baltimore City, Md. Edwards was raped and experienced extreme trauma, but, she insists, “…[O]ne day, I woke up. I really woke up.”
“I was tired of feeling like a used version of myself and I was ready to make a change,” she said. She began Ballet AfterDark because she did not want others to follow that path and used dance to help make that change.
“Sexual assault is a horrible, shaming act of violence,” she said. “Most survivors are left with embarrassment and guilt, and often believe the act was brought upon them by something they’ve done. Often, survivors are left feeling helpless as they navigate through their pain and trauma. At BalletAfterDark, we strive to help survivors, particularly women, reconnect with their womanhood and sensuality, by using ballet to help heal and reconnect with our femininity. We’re making ballet accessible to all women overall! While our workshops are open to women of all ethnicities, our goal is to partner with organizations within the African Diaspora, who may be unfamiliar with ballet altogether. We educate women of color about the history of ballet and the benefits of experiencing
the classical art form.”
Participants will be able to take ballet dance fitness workshops, principles of grace and flexibility, traditional ballet fundamentals, cardiovascular exercise and self-defense techniques. They are also offered mental resources and given empowering mantras and confidence building tools and meditation.
Edwards’ tagline reads, “Reprocess, Rebuild, Reclaim Your Life.” They offer survivors an alternative method of healing after sexual and domestic assault—“making ballet accessible for all women.”
There are two upcoming workshops:
Sunday, June 4, 2017
Hosted at The Living Well
235 Holliday Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
Email: admin@livewellbemore.com
Phone: 410-212-5953
Saturday, June 17, 2017
Hosted at ReInvent U Bootcamps
1321A Bedford Avenue
Pikesville, MD 21208
410-602-UFIT (8348)
Email: info@reinventubootcamps.com