Dan Daw in dress rehearsal, rehearsing for his solo ‘BEAST’. Photograph by Zoe Manders
I would like to propose that ‘disabled dance’
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has well and truly tipped with the founding
programs aim to commision work by disabled artists.
Established in 2012, the Unlimited Festival
of Candoco Dance Company1 by Celeste Dandeker and Adam Benjamin in 1991, the hosting of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012 in London, and not to mention its legacy in the establishment of the Unlimited Festival2. Even with these and other similar events, some believe we are still on this metaphorical verge. What cultural shift needs to happen for dance as an art form to include disability in its fabric? What needs to happen for disabled artists to join me down here and feel like they have tipped? Let’s start by doing the biggest plié of your lives and jump. It’s brilliant down here.
Article Cover Photograph by Nelson Rodriguez-Smith
1
Candoco Dance Company, founded in 1991, is a
company of disabled and non-disabled dancers. Candoco produces experiences for audiences and participants that challenge and broaden perceptions of art and ability, and place people and collaboration at the heart of their work.
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