On Sunday afternoons at The Pride Center in Wilton Manors, something quietly radical is happening.
It’s called Recovery in Motion, a free, drop-in dance-theater workshop series from Pioneer Winter Collective that uses movement and storytelling, to support people in recovery from addiction.
“We know addiction is so prevalent in the LGBTQ community, especially in the gay community,” said choreographer Pioneer Winter, founder of the collective. The workshop is for “anyone that is looking to be able to take control over their body, and have agency and sovereignty over the choices that they make and what happens to them.”
Winter said people from all 12-step fellowships are welcome to attend.
Launched in 2024 through PWC’s Creative Connections program, Recovery in Motion grew out of dancer Andréa Labbée’s one-woman show about her recovery journey. What began as a single artist’s project quickly revealed a deeper need for a recurring space where people in recovery could use movement to process, connect, and heal.
Now, classes run through December 2025 — Wednesdays 7:30–9 p.m. at Miami Theater Center (9806 NE 2nd Ave, Miami Shores) and Sundays 3–4:30 p.m. at The Pride Center at Equality Park (Building B, Main Hall, 2040 N Dixie Hwy, Wilton Manors). There’s no registration required, and no dance or theater experience needed. Participants can attend one session or many.
Workshops are led by teaching artists Frank Campisano, Octavio Campos, and Andréa Labbée — all members of the collective who bring their own lived experience in recovery and deep professional backgrounds in dance, performance, and healing arts. Together they guide participants through movement and theater practices that build trust, encourage vulnerability, and create community.
Winter said the concept reflects the collective’s larger philosophy of “every body dances” — a belief that dance belongs to everyone, regardless of ability, age, or background.
Pioneer Winter Collective itself is physically integrated (disabled and nondisabled artists performing together) and intergenerational, creating dance-theater work that expands what dance can be — ensuring all bodies are seen, celebrated, and witnessed.
Winter said the program isn’t about perfect technique but about showing up and being present.
“You don’t have to have any dance experience,” Winter said. “A lot of it is improvisational.”
Recovery in Motion is funded in part by The Our Fund Foundation, Impulse Group Miami, Miami-Dade County’s Department of Cultural Affairs, and the Mellon Foundation. The collective was recently awarded a grant through the Our Fund Foundation’s 2025 Arts & Culture Fund.
“Florida continues its attack on LGBTQ arts and culture at a time when we most need to share our stories,” said David Jobin, CEO of The Our Fund Foundation. “We are lucky to have artists like Pioneer who continue to soldier through these troubled times.”
PWC’s grant for “Every Body Dances: Broward Expansion” helps sustain the ecosystem that makes programs like Recovery in Motion possible — uniting performances with workshops rooted in healing, creativity, and queer resilience.
“I realized how much dance could be more than just entertainment,” Winter said. “It was a container for this entire life-altering experience.”
