A Christchurch dance company providing classes for the intellectually disabled has undergone a seismic shift after 20 years.
In what's believed to be a world first, some participants at Jolt have become teachers.
"You can’t change perspectives about disability unless people can experience something different," Jolt artistic director Lyn Cotton said.
She said while the students start out unsure of themselves, "within five minutes they forget about the disability".
The teachers carefully plan all of their classes, as well as providing support with pre-class pep talks.
Cotton said people who are able-bodied "take it for granted that we can go 'I am this or that' but for the disability community, that opportunity is very watered down".
Dance tutor Georgia said growing up, there were no teachers with disabilities to look up to.
"I get to change that and be one," she said.
Jolt's chief executive, Mark Le Roche, said the tutors' parents were pleasantly surprised by the changing of the guard.
"The feedback from the parents is that they didn't expect their children ever to become leaders and to be paid to be teachers, and to be performers as well," he said.
Cotton called dance "an amazing space, not just for self-expression but for connection as well".
"If a person feels like they're being seen then they grow a bigger sense of themselves, don't they?"
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