With a late-summer sunset creating the perfect backdrop for an outdoor stage, North Pointe Ballet recently kicked off its 10th anniversary season in Lorain’s Lakeview Park.
Since its inception, North Pointe’s primary focus has been making classical ballet accessible to everyone, both on stage and in the audience.
The company is comprised of about 20 professional dancers, a youth cast of more than 100 members and a program called A Chance to Dance, open to dancers of all abilities.
“There are 10 performers of diverse abilities in our sensory-friendly shows,” said Janet Dziak, North Pointe Ballet’s founder and executive artistic director.
During sensory-friendly performances, the house lights stay on in the theater. Loud, jarring sounds are kept to a minimum, and there’s a designated space for those that need to get up and take a break.
The inspiration for these performances is Dziak’s son, Lucas, who was diagnosed with autism at age 5. He loves music and dancing, but he would have difficulty in dark, crowded theaters during shows they’d attend as a family.
Dziak started bringing Lucas to dress rehearsals for shows she was working on. The lights were on and the theater was empty, creating a comfortable environment for her son.
“I was like, ‘Man, I'm so lucky. There are other people that deserve this, too,’” she said. “From there, we dedicated every Saturday matinee to a sensory-friendly performance, and it was the beginning of what North Pointe Ballet is now.”
'Because of You'
Several years ago, someone asked Dziak, “What’s your story? Why do you do this?”
“Well, I tell stories through dance, right?” she said. “If I’m going to tell the world, why not make a dance about it?”
Dziak’s answer to that question is “Because of You,” a contemporary work she wrote and choreographed in 2019. It’s an emotional journey that begins as she meets her husband and starts a family. Then, challenges arise in their relationship as they notice their son behaving differently than his peers.
One of the scenes references Dziak taking Lucas to Mommy and Me classes at their local library.
“All of the other little kids were sitting nicely and doing exactly as they were told, and my son was being the disruptive one,” she said. “I was really struggling and feeling the need to apologize to everyone in the room.”
Dziak said she challenged the dancers to think of moments in their own life when they reacted in a way they weren’t proud of or when they judged another person.
“So, making it a personal, emotional, an individual experience,” she said. “Even though there's a lot of dancers dancing together at the same time, what are we all feeling inside while we're navigating our life amongst each other on the outside?”
Lucas was 9 years old when he first danced alongside his mom in “Because of You.”
“It was a nice way for Lucas and I to do it together, and we could connect every step of the way to make sure we were both saying what we wanted to say at the same time,” Dziak said. “I know he's proud of it. He really wanted other kids that were his peers and people that he didn't know to see it and say, ‘Hey, maybe take a step back and think before you make a judgment.’”
To close out their recent concert at Lakeview Park, members of North Pointe Ballet joined Dziak on stage to perform “Because of You.” Though Lucas is now 14 years old and has outgrown his role in the show, he was happy to teach another young dancer the part for this year’s performance.
As the sun sank below Lake Erie, the show ended with the same message of love and acceptance at the heart of North Pointe Ballet.
“We've come to this resolution that it's okay to be who we are, and the ballet studio is where we can be ourselves,” Dziak said. “And these people that are with us are different than us but also the same, so let's embrace that community and be ourselves and have fun.”
