Moving Together: Surrey Place Clients Experience Inclusive Ballet
JANUARY 27, 2026
On Sunday, October 5, 2025, Surrey Place clients and caregivers joined the National Ballet of Canada for a special ballet workshop. Surrey Place volunteer Emma Randall provided a summary of the day’s events:
In a ballet studio at Queens Quay and Spadina at the Walter Carsen Centre for The National Ballet of Canada, with live piano music and laughter, 12 participants stretched, breathed and moved together with instructor and Senior Teaching Artist, Anne-Marie Cabri. The partnership between Surrey Place and The National Ballet of Canada offered a free, inclusive multi-sensory workshop.
The class wasn’t about perfecting the dance but making movement accessible and fun.
I think anyone who wants to do it should be able to. It's safe; it's judgement free. Even people who were hesitant at the beginning felt comfortable at the end.
Cabri has spent years teaching creative access in dance and leading workshops with the National Ballet, making sure her classes welcome people of all abilities and comfort levels.
It's common to see people arrive shy or unsure, then they start to let go through natural movement patterns that touch our nervous system and spirit. I love to see that magic happen.
Her teaching draws on brain-compatible dance education, a training she learned earlier in her career. She uses a movement chart she made herself, which can be used to calm or energize the participants and prepare them to dance.
It’s a non-medicated movement tool that can take away stress. It can be done in three minutes or over a whole class, and I use it every time I teach.
As the class moved away from tactile exercises to breathing work, counting, stretching and a handful of ballet moves, the room was full of smiles and excitement.
We’re so fortunate the ballet is willing to partner and allow people to have these opportunities.
Thank you to the National Ballet of Canada for working with us to provide such an exciting opportunity for clients!
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