Support Dance Inclusion!
Donation protected
Kerry Thompson was born deaf and later diagnosed at 10 years with Retinitis Pigmentosa - a progressive blindness disorder that causes night blindness, sensitivity to light, tunnel vision and eventually loss of central vision.
Despite being Deaf and legally blind - Kerry moved from Louisiana to Boston on her own in the hopes of better opportunities for herself and to live her life independently. She pursued a Master's degree from Harvard University and currently works for an international nonprofit.
Unexpectedly, Kerry fell in love with dancing and began to explore the world of Latin dance. Even though she cannot hear the music or see her dance partners, she began to internalize the rhythm and eventually learned the intricate footwork through careful counting.
Over the years, friends who were Deaf, Blind, or had a disability would tell Kerry that they wanted to learn how to dance but there was no place for them to learn. Wanting to remove barriers to dance, Kerry founded Silent Rhythms - a dance program that supported inclusive dance instructions for people with all abilities. The program has taught more than 3,000 people with disabilities since she founded the program in 2008 and has taught countless more people without disabilities how to be more inclusive. Kerry has been using her own funds to support this program but would like to take Silent Rhythms to the next level as a nonprofit organization that can do more to support inclusion such as an accessible dance studio, funding for sign language interpreters and support providers, train dance teachers on how to be more inclusive.
Donations will go towards helping with the start up costs of building a nonprofit - IRS filing fees, legal consultation, website design, and accessibility support.
Despite being Deaf and legally blind - Kerry moved from Louisiana to Boston on her own in the hopes of better opportunities for herself and to live her life independently. She pursued a Master's degree from Harvard University and currently works for an international nonprofit.
Unexpectedly, Kerry fell in love with dancing and began to explore the world of Latin dance. Even though she cannot hear the music or see her dance partners, she began to internalize the rhythm and eventually learned the intricate footwork through careful counting.
Over the years, friends who were Deaf, Blind, or had a disability would tell Kerry that they wanted to learn how to dance but there was no place for them to learn. Wanting to remove barriers to dance, Kerry founded Silent Rhythms - a dance program that supported inclusive dance instructions for people with all abilities. The program has taught more than 3,000 people with disabilities since she founded the program in 2008 and has taught countless more people without disabilities how to be more inclusive. Kerry has been using her own funds to support this program but would like to take Silent Rhythms to the next level as a nonprofit organization that can do more to support inclusion such as an accessible dance studio, funding for sign language interpreters and support providers, train dance teachers on how to be more inclusive.
Donations will go towards helping with the start up costs of building a nonprofit - IRS filing fees, legal consultation, website design, and accessibility support.
Organizer
Kerry Thompson
Organizer
Boston, MA
