Your Memory Is Real: Belonging, Identity, and the Stories We Carry

This is Part 2 of our conversation with Krishna Washburn, founder and artistic director of Dark Room Ballet. What begins as a conversation about dance becomes a much deeper exploration of memory, identity, belonging, and what it means to be fully seen.Joy and Jenelle talk with Krishna about the importance of trusting our own experiences and perceptions, especially when they don’t fit other people’s assumptions. Along the way, Krishna shares fascinating insights into the world of blind dance education, the rich oral traditions that have preserved knowledge across generations, and the ways art can help us heal, connect, and better understand ourselves.The conversation also takes an honest look at inclusion, challenging listeners to consider who gets welcomed into our communities, workplaces, and cultural spaces, and who is too often left on the margins. Whether you’re interested in dance or not, this episode offers a powerful reflection on the universal human desire to belong, to have our stories honored, and to contribute our gifts to the world.What You’ll Hear in This Episode• Reflections on memory, self-trust, and honoring our lived experiences• The connection between identity, belonging, and the stories we tell ourselves• How blind educators have preserved knowledge through oral tradition and innovative teaching methods• Why dance can be a powerful tool for healing, self-expression, and personal transformation• The emotional impact of being excluded from spaces where you know you belong• What true inclusion looks like, and practical ways we can all help create it• Why accessibility is about more than accommodation and is ultimately a matter of human dignityGuest: Krishna WashburnKrishna Washburn is a ballet educator, audio description specialist, and blind professional dancer. Through Dark Room Ballet, she has trained more than 1,500 dancers and developed tuition-free collegiate and pre-professional arts training opportunities for blind and visually impaired adults. She is also a contributor to the upcoming Oxford Handbook of Ballet Pedagogy.Links & ResourcesDark Room Ballethttps://darkroomballet.comDouble Vision Podcasthttps://www.doublevisionblog.comVoicemail Line949-414-8336