Mission + Vision
Dance Your Ability Therapeutic Movement Foundation stands for the rights of all to have access to collective joy, a sense of belonging in community, self-expression, kindness and the healing that comes from movement & music. We believe that one of the best ways to provide this is through dance. We aim to continue to train people who are passionate about the benefits of dance and the joy of service, so that they may offer classes for people of all walks of life to experience themselves in freedom & joy no matter their circumstances.
Our vision is a world where everyone has access to experience joy and freedom in their bodies with their own unique dance, while being a part of the group: unique & unified. We aim to provide outreach movement & dance programs for all abilities & ages, creating spaces where everyone is free to dance their dance and experience feeling unified with the group.
“Movement has the capacity to take us to the home of the soul, the world within for which we have no name.
Movement reaches our deepest nature, and dance creatively expresses it.
Through dance, we gain new insights into the mystery of our lives.
When brought forth from the inside and forged by the desire to create personal change, dance has the profound power to heal the body, psyche and soul.”
-Anna Halprin
What is Dance Your Ability Therapeutic Movement Foundation?
Founded by Shauna Devlin in January of 2019, Dance Your Ability is both an advocate and a bridge builder.
Dance Your Ability advocates for every human’s right to know and experience both freedom and connection, no matter what their circumstances or ability.
At the same time DYA builds bridges by being in support of healthy leadership, self-awareness, embodiment, kindness; ultimately being in service while offering one’s gifts.
About Shauna Devlin
Shauna Devlin is a 5Rhythms Facilitator, Dance Temple DJ, Embodiment Coach, in training, and the Founder and Executive Director of Dance Your Ability Therapeutic Foundation. Shauna provides opportunities for a large variety of people to feel welcome to do their own unique dance while having an experience that is healing, positive, life-affirming and community-building.
Shauna Devlin first discovered conscious dance in 2005. She had seen Banafsheh Sayyad in an ecstatic dance performance in Vancouver, BC and experienced a powerful moment of recognition: “This is what happens to me when I dance”.
From there she learned more about ecstatic dance, eventually coming to Gabrielle Roth and 5 Rhythms, and taking classes with Bettina Rothe, the local 5 Rhythms instructor in Vancouver. She went on to complete her 5 Rhythms training and become a certified 5 Rhythms Teacher in 2011; offering classes and workshops on Salt Spring Island, Vancouver, Vancouver Island, Gulf Islands, Whistler, and Whitehorse.
She has trained and completed certifications in; Banafsheh Sayyad’s Dance of Oneness (ongoing), Yoga Outreach CoreTraining™ (2014), Kim Barthe’s “Trauma Informed Practice” (2019), Music Care: Care Through Music Level I (2020), kinSHIFT “Elements of Truth: BEFORE RECONCILIATION” (2021), The Way of Council with Circles of Resilience (in process) and Certification of Embodiment Coaching with Embodiment Unlimited (in process).
Shauna also holds a BA in Latin American Studies & Spanish (1996) from Simon Fraser University with a focus on Merengue Dance and was a long-time ski instructor, with a Level I + II certification with the Canadian Ski Instructors Alliance.
Shauna is a warm & inclusive spirit. As a Group & Movement Facilitator, DJ, Activist and Catalyst for connection and joy, she uses her love of music and movement to create spaces where all can experience the many benefits of Conscious Dance.
People We Serve
Using dance as a way of creative engagement for the following groups provides opportunities to use movement as a way to connect with others, build community and to find pathways of healing.
Older adults (55+, seniors, assisted living and dementia)
Adults & Children with disabilities
Children & You — at-risk/public and private schools/ alternative schools
Parents & Babes/Tots
Women/Men/LGBTQIA+
Women who have experienced Trauma & Sexual Assault
within a structure of support-ie: organization/facility/advocates in room at all times)
infusing DYA in your existing practice/facility
Individuals in recovery
Refugees/new immigrants
People with health issues - Cancer Survivors/Patients /Parkinson’s
Homeless
Incarcerated
Children of incarcerated parents
