BOSTON (WHDH) - Abilities Dance in Boston’s South End is on a mission to create an inclusive environment for all dancers, no matter physical ability.
The company hopes to challenge the perspectives of the audience when it comes to dance.
Abilities Dance threw two weekend performances at the Calderwood Pavilion in Boston, challenging an entire audience to see, hear, and feel the perspectives of all abilities. An additional, virtual performance is slated for Friday, Nov. 11, as well.
“We have dancers with visible and invisible disabilities, as well as diverse identities within and outside of the disabled culture,” Ellice Patterson, Abilities Dance Founder and Executive Director, said.
The company put on a ballet called “Inversion” through narration and a sign language interpreter, and worked to made the ballet accessible to everyone. Paterson said it is all about representing the stories of these dancers and creating art with their unique identities.
“It’s all a part of kind of going back to our core techniques and redefining what is first position, what is second position for you in your body?,” Paterson said. “And then, how do we make that work?”
She said she created the dance company a few years ago after she was unable to find one to allow her to develop and perform at a professional level. She performs on the aerial silks in “Inversion.
“I grab crutches and rise to stand, I spin, and spin, until I’m on the silks right side.” A recorded narration for the performance said, describing her movement.
The other mastermind behind the project is Andrew Choe, who created the score for “Inversion.”
“We wanted to create that space where folks, whether disabled, non-disabled, non-neurotypical, felt safe, and felt like they had some platform where they could express their art or perform their art,” Choe said.
The stories ranging across gender identity, sexual orientations and a range of disabilities.
“We’re trying to keep ballet, or dance as an industry as inclusive and accepting as a whole so that it can continue to evolve,” Paterson said.
Abilities Boston is an audition-based company, and they are not taking new dancers right now. But people interested in supporting the company can check out some of their upcoming events on their website.
Tickets to stream Friday’s virtual performance of “Inversion” can be found here.
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