about us
Mission statement
Criptonite’s vision is to empower individuals, families and communities to reverse the negative stigma of “disabilities”, and to promote the power of “possibilities”. Criptonite unearths personal possibilities through a myriad of avenues, including dance, art, self advocacy and well-being.
ALLIE
Jennifer Allie Friedrich received her BS in Therapeutic Recreation from Southeast Missouri State University (Gamma Sigma Sigma) in 1998. While studying at the university she took a dance master class from a visiting artist, Sabatino Verlezza. This experience opened her eyes to the possibilities that movement can go beyond leisure, health and well-being. She discovered that movement or dance can also be an expressive art form. Allie has always embraced the challenges of living a life with Cerebral Palsy, that was her “normal” life as she perceived it. The new discovery of dance afforded her a new language to be understood even further. Upon graduating Sabatino invited Allie to be an apprentice at [Cleveland Ballet] Dancing Wheels, a professional dance company of dancers with and without disabilities. Dance continued to be part of her life as she studied with her mentors, Barbara Allegra Verlezza, Nancy Lushington and Sabatino at the Steffi Nossen School of Dance in New York while also dancing with Verlezza Dance in Cleveland. Between her studies of dance, Allie ran for State Representative in order to promote change in her home state of Missouri. In 2015, Sabatino and Allie founded Illuminations Dance Company, a multi-generational ensemble of dancers. This company presented concerts as well as outreach programs regionally in Missouri. Presently, she is completing a Partners in Policymaking Certification to enhance her knowledge of advocacy for the rights of people with disabilities. This training led her to be a governor-appointed board member to the Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council. This is a state run board whose mission is to assist individuals, families, and the community to include all people with developmental disabilities in every aspect of life. Allie continues to train and perform as a dancer while working at The Hope Therapeutic Horsemanship Center as Therapeutic Recreation Coordinator. Her personal journey has currently inspired her to address the inequalities of relationships for people with disabilities, through dance. Thus, she and mentor, Sabatino, have created Criptonite; a dance duet as well as a larger vision to educate people about the negative stigma of ‘disabilities’. The dance and the project hopes to inform people about their potential and their greater ‘possibilities’.