FLY: disable dancers project

I work with disabled people who wish to be more than their disabled bodies. Many with spinal cord injuries or paralysis have strong upper bodies and are able to dance in the air when they can barely stand on the ground. Blind people who cannot dance across the floor can feel their way around a trapeze and dance in the air. One paralympic competitor I worked with improved her performance because she was able to go upside down for the first time in 15 years and lengthen her spine. One of my dancers is learning to walk again because her spine is lengthening and her upper body is strengthening. The benefit to their families (pain free, they use less medication, no drug fogs, adrenaline fueled joy) is obvious, as is the benefit to their communities who no longer have the burden of caring for depressed, physically incapable people. The project I am developing is to bring my students together to create a performance troupe that can travel with a freestanding aerial rig to schools and disability conventions so they can show that just because you can't walk, you can fly, just because you are disabled doesn't mean you can't soar, and they can tell their stories of how they are being productive, inspiring members of the world despite the challenges handed to them. The show includes aerial and acrobatic work as well as spoken word. it is inclusive of disabilities including an autistic composer and autistic company photographer, we have visual and hearing impaired dancers, dancers missing limbs, dancers with cerebral palsy and hyper mobile joints -- all benefit from strength training and joy! My personal site is nimblearts.org and the school I founded is the New England Center for Circus Arts. I travel from the United States to work with these dancers as I live in a small rural community where there are few disabled dancers to be inspired by and create with. We have a community of supporters in Newbury, England. London is within easy public transport for the disabled.

Fondos becados por London (April 2014)