We dance to heal.
Dance To Be Free’s mission is to reduce anxiety and depression for people in prison through the healing power of movement.
“Dancing is . . . A reparative experience that directly contradicts the terror, helplessness and visibility of trauma to enable survivors to reclaim ownership of their bodies and their lives.”
–Bessel A. van der Kolk, MD, Professor of Psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine, and President of the Trauma Research Foundation.
Montage of men and women dancing across the country!
We expanded our mission in January of 2023 to start dancing with men in prison! As of August we will have been in 2 male facilities in Mississippi and we had an introduction to the male facility in Halawa on Oahu, Hawaii.
Why Are These Women Dancing In Prison?
The U.S. women’s prison population has exploded in the last 40 years. Many incarcerated women are dealing with trauma and one program aims to help them work through it via movement. Imaeyen Ibanga travels to Colorado to discover what dance can tell us about the carceral system, the people in it, and if the nation can choreograph a better life for imprisoned people.
In 9 years DTBF has expanded to 21 prisons in 12 states across the US.
DTBF has trained over 600 women and 50 men as dance teachers.
In May 2023, we expanded to Parchman, Mississippi.
At La Vista Correctional Facility in Pueblo, Colorado, DTBF graduates are now leading the teacher trainings. 649 women danced in one month, this is almost the entire population of the prison.
As of the Fall of 2024 we will have expanded to a new men’s prison in Omaha
Dance on-demand with us.
You can dance if you want to! Access our entire library of pre-recorded classes with an “I Dance for Her” Collective subscription. Get unlimited access to the full DTBF library and dance on-demand, whenever you want! With your subscription, not only do you get the healing power of Dance To Be Free, but you help us continue to provide programming and teacher trainings to women in prisons nationwide.
Every purchase helps us bring dance to more incarcerated women.
Wear your heart on your sleeve, or your chest . . . or your phone and show the world that you dance for her. Your purchase not only helps us spread the word when you wear it, but it helps us continue to bring the healing power of dance to women in prison.
How we work with prisons
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In this video from CNN, you'll hear from the Colorado Director of the Department of Corrections and our grads from La Vista Correctional Facility.
Dance To Be Free, after prison
“Dance To Be Free saved my life. It helped me to recover from addiction and trauma when nothing else would. It gave me compassion, empathy, and empowerment for myself as well as others. It is because of this program that I am able to be the person I have always wanted to be.” Mary, DTBF Alumna, La Vista Correctional Facility.
Mary single-handedly sustained the DTBF programming at LVCF during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Check out this video where Mary shares more about her experience with DTBF inside of prison where she choreographed over 100 of her own songs. Make sure to watch to the end to get a sneak peak of her in action.
“Amazing work Lucy, our State is so proud of you and the national focus on your work is not only appropriate and wonderful for us – but it will inspire people in other places.”
— Jared Polis, Governor of Colorado
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