WORKSHOP ON DANCE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVITY FOR SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES.
A unique workshop that addresses an aspect of dance diversity and inclusivity little explored. The workshop is led by choreographer Demy Papathanassiou and is designed to introduce participants to the experience of the differently abled dancing body.
The workshop is based on Demy’s experience as a dancer and aims to bring awareness to the processes that she has to undergo to walk, to sense her body in motion kinaesthetically, to make movement, to negotiate balance. Through Demy’s exposition of her life-story as a case-study, the workshop is designed to break down barriers that limit cooperation and seeks to develop a creative atmosphere where all participants are physically integrated in exploring dance and creativity.
The workshop is structured around the methodology of creation of the piece Dançor. Using crutches, participants will be introduced to what it takes to negotiate movement with the use of the apparatus: challenges to the control of the body, stamina needed in certain muscles, limits imposed by the crutches, balance and falling. By the end of the workshop the aim is to have instilled in all an understanding of the physical strength and power of the differently abled dancer as a way to counterbalance socially defined boundaries of what a differently abled body can or cannot do.
The workshop participants will work towards a short recreation of the piece Dançor in order to have a ‘taste’ of the experience from creating material to shaping choreographic form.
Requirements:
Large dance/recreational studio or sports gym/court (wooden floor, not concrete).
Participants:
The workshop is designed for 16+ - 22 age groups
Structure:
The workshop can be designed as a 2 hr movement only exploration, or as a two-day intensive to include the exploration of the dance-work Dançor.
For more information contact: demy.papathanasiou@gmail.com
