‘The new forms that we crave and desire can be found within our own aesthetic and not the able bodied version.’ shouldn’t be dictated by a core set of
Armed with this information, I can now
beliefs that say that in order to be of value
empower others to do the same. So who
I must first be homogenized to fit my role
cares if you forgot your lines when you walk
as dancer/artist?
on stage! Who cares if you can’t hear the music! Who cares if you dribble or drool!
It is at this point that I call upon individual
Who cares if you shake uncontrollably!
artists to take forward the reigns of
Who cares if you can’t bend your spine! It
emancipation, and for myself, to check my
is these aspects of yourself that make you
own conservative values at the front door.
valuable as an artist and are inherently part
For I can no longer hope to be the dancer
of your technical makeup, your point of
I imagined I would become during those
difference and your individuality.
years of training. Instead, I must invest in my own exploration of what my body does and
For too long now, we have been herded
what it is capable of within the realm of my
onto stage and made to play ourselves
own culture and not the dominant hierarchy.
like cardboard cutouts and safe sanitized
This notion I find empowering as it places
versions of what is considered acceptable.
my body at the forefront of innovation and
While others are allowed to explore the
creation within my art form and negates any
intrinsic nature of their bodies, even the
previous held perceptions of what is right
grotesque, the same is not allowed of us
and wrong within my own conventional
for fear of either embarrassment or the
upbringing. My dance technique has been
perception that we want to be like others.
staring at me the whole time. I just needed
If we are to discover the hidden talents
a way in which to find it.
within our own bodies, then we need to
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