Abilities Dance Boston presents: Intersections v5 (2026)

Abilities Dance Boston presents the fifth iteration of our Intersections series: highlighting BIPOC and disabled honorees past and present April 17th and 18th, 2026. This year only our April 17th show will be livestreamed. Additioinally, we highlight queer/trans identities, womxn/nonbinary identiites, and more to really highlight the further intersectional nature of their lives and communities impacted by their work and advocacy. We're thrilled to translate their lived experience to music, movement, and narrative for all to understand the depths of their remarkable work, while connecting it to bills on the Massachusetts state floor to dive into the real impact these bills have/could have on their life journeys. 

Our honorees this year are Claudia Alick, Dr. Baiyina Muhammad, Casandra Xavier, and Tom Wiggins. These honorees work in dance, theatre, and producing accessible performances (Claudia Alick); researching the lived experience of blackness and disability (Dr. Baiyina Muhammad); utilizing technology and other mediums to advocate for the deaf-blind community; and being a lesser known ancestral musical prodigy (Tom Wiggins). We're honored they shared their time and life journey with us to dig deep into creating compelling works. Artistic direction/choreography is led by Founder/Executive & Artistic Director Ellice Patterson. Musical composition is created by Director Music & Operations Andrew Choe. 

We are proud to partner with Disability Policy Consortium and Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition to help inform us of the current legislative needs on the MA state floor so we can turn art into advocacy for queer/trans and disabled populations. If other partners are interested in connecting for promotional purposes, tabling opportunities, or sponsorships, please email ellice@abilitiesdanceboston.org . 

Our general admission tickets are $35 for person for both in person and virtual performances. We do offer unlimited free tickets so that finances aren't a barrier to accessing our performances in the spirit of accessibility. If able, we do ask our supporters to help offset those costs by donating to help subsidize the costs. Generally, half of our audiences have opted into free tickets. We must rely on community in these times to balance community needs while still paying our artists and administrators as equitably as possible.

We do have a no refund policy whatsoever. If attendees want to attend in person and are no longer able to do so for any reason, they can receive a link to our livestream on request and ensure they are still able to watch the performance and support our artists.

Considerations made to maximize accessibility for all include:

• Mask mandatory stipulation
• Audio descriptions for blind/low-vision audiences
• Captions and ASL interpretations for deaf/hard of hearing audiences 
• No flashing/strobe lights/sudden light changes/sudden noises
• Attendees may bring headphones/ear plugs if easily overstimulated
• A hall outside of the theatre space is available for audience members seeking a break 
• No concession stand/food and drink provided
• Attendees may bring in outside water
• Unlimited free tickets for live and live streaming audiences are available for those who can't afford to purchase a ticket
• If further accommodations are needed or more information, please email abilitiesdanceboston@gmail.com