Dark Room Ballet with Krishna Washburn

09/16/2026

SENSORY BEYOND SIGHT is BACK!
A movement intensive with Davian “DJ” Robinson

What happens when you take sight out of the equation?

In Sensory Beyond Sight, visually impaired choreographer and performer DJ Robinson invites you to explore movement through breath, touch, spatial hearing, weight, and proprioception.

✨ Discover movement without visual imitation
✨ Deepen your awareness of your body in space
✨ Build trust and connection through movement partnerships
✨ Explore tactile tools for creating and communicating choreography

This cumulative workshop series offers a different way to experience movement — one rooted in sensation, imagination, adaptability, and connection.

Upcoming session:
📅 Friday, September 18
🕓 4 PM ET
💻 Zoom
⏱️ 90 minutes
E-mail: [email protected]

09/11/2026

Our Labor Day fundraiser is still going . thank you to everyone who’s already given.
Meet a few of the students Dark Room Ballet has reached this year: Morgaihne, a creative audio describer who found a “family” in this community. Rocco, who joined this year and found a new understanding of movement through detailed description. Ansley, who found confidence Ansley had been looking for for a long time. And Jo, whose creativity was fueled by breaking through isolation and reconnecting with the body through dance.
Four different paths, one community — and it only stays possible with your support.
If you haven’t yet, there’s still time to help us keep classes tuition-free and pay the artists who teach them. Link in bio to donate — all donations are tax-deductible.

09/07/2026

Support blind & low-vision artists this Labor Day.
“I began with an introductory class and eventually learned to follow an open-level ballet class without needing to see myself in the mirror. Now I have the opportunity to give something back to the community that gave me that access.”
— Luna Vintner, Student and Emerging Teaching Artist
“Dark Room Ballet has given me the opportunity to reach a community that is full of creative potential and yet is so underserved by mainstream arts and culture.”
— Alex Bulmer, Visiting Teaching Artist
From student to teaching artist, from newcomer to visiting faculty — Dark Room Ballet grows because artists like Luna and Alex keep showing up for this community, in every role.
Your donation helps pay teaching artists and keeps classes tuition-free for disabled students. Link in bio to donate — all donations are tax-deductible.

09/03/2026

Support blind & low-vision artists this Labor Day.
“Teaching the Darkroom community was a wonderful experience because of the affection I received and the respect everyone showed me, even though they didn’t know me and it was the first time they embraced my jazz technique.”
— Valentina Bertani, Visiting Teaching Artist
Valentina is the first blind dance teacher to graduate in the Simonson Jazz Method — and she brought that technique to Dark Room Ballet’s students for the very first time this year.
Your donation helps pay teaching artists like Valentina and keeps classes tuition-free for disabled students. Link in bio to donate — all donations are tax-deductible.

09/02/2026

Support blind & low-vision artists this Labor Day.
“Movement is not inherently incorrect or wrong. Sometimes it is simply not yet understood within the context of the body creating it.”
— Davian “DJ” Robinson, MFA, Emerging Teaching Artist
DJ teaches Choreography & Tactile Mapping at Dark Room Ballet — helping blind and visually impaired dancers across the country find and trust their own artistic voice.
Your donation helps pay teaching artists like DJ and keeps classes tuition-free for disabled students. Link in bio to donate — all donations are tax-deductible.


Support blind & low-vision artists this Labor Day.
“Movement is not inherently incorrect or wrong. Sometimes it is simply not yet understood within the context of the body creating it.”
— Davian “DJ” Robinson, MFA, Emerging Teaching Artist
DJ teaches Choreography & Tactile Mapping at Dark Room Ballet — helping blind and visually impaired dancers across the country find and trust their own artistic voice.
Your donation helps pay teaching artists like DJ and keeps classes tuition-free for disabled students. Link in bio to donate — all donations are tax-deductible.

09/01/2026

THIS LABOR DAY, SUPPORT BLIND & LOW-VISION ARTISTS.
“Labor Day is my favorite holiday, because of my own experiences with employment discrimination and having my rights violated in work situations. Dark Room Ballet likes to position itself in opposition to the abusive workplace, ableism and discrimination against blind people. And we hire blind artists. So this really has to do with employment justice.”
— Krishna Washburn, Founder & Artistic Director
For Dark Room Ballet, Labor Day is about more than celebrating work. It is about fighting for the right of blind and disabled artists to have meaningful, fairly paid work.
Dark Room Ballet began with Krishna teaching ballet to blind students. Today, that vision has grown into a broader accessible arts community, offering regular classes and workshops in movement, voice & speech, improvisation, audio description, musicality, and more.
Our classes are tuition-free for disabled participants and taught by an all-blind/low-vision faculty of teaching artists.
But this work doesn’t happen without the artists and educators who make it possible.
Only 41% of working-age people with vision difficulty were in paid employment, compared with 72% of people without vision difficulty. And 22.8% of people with vision difficulty live below the federal poverty level.
This Labor Day, we’re raising funds to pay and support the blind and low-vision artists, educators, and administrators who make Dark Room Ballet possible.
✨ Support blind & low-vision teaching artists
✨ Keep classes tuition-free
✨ Support employment justice for disabled artists
✨ Make space for disabled artists to create, teach & perform
Labor Day is our day, too.
🖤 Donate today.
https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/donate-to-change-lives-20930 Donations to Dark Room Ballet are tax-deductible.
DisabilityJustice AccessibleArts DisabledArtists

08/06/2026

Join us for the second session of Sensory Beyond Sight, an intensive workshop series led by visually impaired dancer, choreographer, and performer Davian “DJ” Robinson.
In this workshop, participants will explore movement through breath, touch, spatial hearing, weight, and proprioception—developing tools for creating and navigating movement without relying on visual imitation.
Participants will:
• Practice building movement from physical sensations, rhythm, and awareness
• Develop deeper body awareness and spatial understanding
• Explore ways to communicate movement ideas through verbal and tactile cues
• Work with creative tools that help map choreography through touch and physical materials
• Build trust and connection through movement partnerships
📅 Friday, August 7, 2026
🕓 4:00 PM ET
⏱️ 90 minutes
💻 Online
✨ Free
Register by e-mail: [email protected]
About DJ Robinson:
Davian “DJ” Robinson is a passionate and boundary-breaking visually impaired dancer, choreographer, and performer. Drawing from his lived experience and athletic movement style, he creates choreography that is physically powerful and emotionally resonant. His work blends dynamic storytelling with raw embodiment, inviting audiences into a world where rhythm, resilience, and adaptability redefine how we move and connect. Through performance and education, DJ challenges conventions and expands possibilities for inclusive expression in the arts.

07/27/2026

What happens when movement and music create together?
✨ Moving In and Out of Tune is a free 4-week listening-based movement creation workshop exploring improvisation, musicality, and embodied expression.
Through guided prompts and creative exercises, participants will explore how sound can inspire movement — not as accompaniment, but as an active partner in the creative process.
This workshop is open to movers, musicians, actors, and anyone who loves exploring movement and music. No specific dance style or experience is required — just curiosity and a willingness to create.
Join Luna Vintner for a collaborative exploration of sound, movement, and your own unique creative voice.
📅 August 2, 9, 16 & 30
🕛 12–2 PM ET
💻 Online via Zoom
Free registration: email [email protected]
Video description: text: “Moving In and Out of Tune”
Be a part of the creation, where music and dance are created together.
Build your practice without fear or judgment.
Be a part of a community where all bodies are welcome.
We will move in our own way.
We will listen.
We will try.
You will have a process.
You will make it happen.
Free virtual workshop.
Register: [email protected]
The video shows Luna Vintner dancing in different rooms while wearing flowing clothing, accompanied by an original piano composition she created. The text appears in sync with her movement and the music.

06/25/2026

Don’t miss this one:)

This Saturday June 27 marks the final session of Audio Description for Dance, a free online workshop series with Krishna Washburn exploring the art, practice, and philosophy of audio description.

In our final session, participants will engage in critical listening and discussion, examining examples of audio description for dance and reflecting on the choices, values, and assumptions that shape accessible performance practices. Together, we’ll explore what makes audio description effective, equitable, and artistically engaging.

Whether you’ve attended previous sessions or are joining for the first time, you’re welcome to participate. Email: [email protected] to register

Join Dark Room Ballet for a tuition-free online workshop series designed for blind and visually impaired artists and audiences, audio describers, choreographers, educators, and arts administrators.

Topics include:
• Vocal Tonality in Audio Description
• Script Preparation Strategies
• Logic and Language in Audio Description
• Critically Listening to Audio Description for Dance

Workshops take place online via Zoom on Saturdays from 4–6 PM ET.

Dark Room Ballet is an independent, grant-funded, tuition-free fine arts educational program for blind and visually impaired adults taught by expert blind and visually impaired teaching artists.

06/19/2026

This saturday, june 20th! Session 4: Logic and Language in Audio Description! You can still register for Audio Description for Dance for free!
In our fourth session, we’ll be using original artists’ language and formal logic analysis to write effective, purposeful, and equitable audio descriptions. Participants will explore how language choices shape audience experience and practice creating descriptions that center both artistic intent and accessibility. Please bring a way to record your work, whether through handwriting, typing, or audio recording.
Each week explores a different topic, and you can join any and all sessions. Email [email protected] to register!
Join Dark Room Ballet for a tuition-free online workshop series exploring the art, practice, and philosophy of audio description for dance. Designed for blind and visually impaired artists and audiences, audio describers, choreographers, educators, and arts administrators, this series offers an in-depth look into accessible performance practices and creative approaches to audio description.
Topics include:
• Vocal Tonality in Audio Description
• Script Preparation Strategies
• Logic and Language in Audio Description
• Critically Listening to Audio Description for Dance
Workshops take place online via Zoom on Saturdays from 4–6 PM ET.
Dark Room Ballet is an independent, grant-funded, tuition-free fine arts educational program for blind and visually impaired adults taught by expert blind and visually impaired teaching artists.
BlindAndLowVision LowVision InclusiveArts DanceEducation PerformingArts