Celebrating

Disability
By: Riley Fullmer, Jamie Eldredge,
and Sadie Fowers
What Dances
We did research on dances that focused on disabilities. The two dances that
we decided to focus on were about the Americans with Disabilities Act and
one that focused on a couple dancing with a wheelchair.
Dances and Dancers
The first dance we chose is about The Americans With Disabilities Act.

It was choreographed and performed by Riley and her female classmates

during her senior year in High School. It was a class assignment to teach
about an important event in history.
Dances and Dancers
The second dance is a dance called Pliancy.

The dancers names are Marisa Hamamoto and Piotr Iwanicki one male and
one female.

Interesting about this duet is one of the dancers is in a wheelchair.

What These Dances Mean
The Americans With Disabilities Act

-The Act was passed in 1990 and is a civil rights law that prohibits
discrimination based on disability.

This type of dance was a performance dance but also an

educational/awareness dance. The significance of this dance was to show how
people with disabilities were treated before the Act was put into place vs
afterwards.
What These Dances Mean
Wheelchair Dance Duet

This dance was also a performance dance. The significance of it was that no
disability can stop you from performing. It shows how inclusion inspired
innovation and how creative two different people together can be.
 Religion connection

The two dances that we have reviewed

do not have a religious connection.
History and Cultural Story
This type of dance, similar to many others, can tell the history of people
within the group, but it can also tell other stories. The first dance, The
Americans With Disabilities Act, is based on the act that it was named after,
so it is supposed to tell a story of their history. Like any other dancers,
people with disabilities do not have to just tell stories about disability, but
can use the art form to express other stories as well.
Social Norms
Both of these dances are not reinforcing social norms, in fact they are
breaking the social norm. What they’re trying to show us is that we rarely see
dancers with disabilities in performances. Why not stop that now? The
wheelchair duet is a perfect example of going away from the “typical duet.”
The Americans with Disabilities Act Dance shows how social norms had to
change afterwards. Americans with disabilities can no longer be denied access
to jobs, school and transportation.
Movement - Disability Act Dance
The movement seen in this dance moves
along as the story emerges.

Movement - Pliancy
The definition of pliancy is to be manipulated
and these two dancers yielded themselves to
the movement between each other.
Meaning of Movement
In the Wheelchair duet an idea they are trying to get across to the audience
would be a sense of normalcy of a wheelchair user dancing on stage and
being able to share the stage with those who do not.
In the Americans with Disabilities Act dance they were conveying the idea of
that Act and how it affected people in that community.
What the Movement Represents
The Americans With Disabilities Act

This dance is more symbolic on what it represents. Before this Act was put in
place, no one had to make any accommodations for people with disabilities.
The beginning of the dance the first girl is representing a deaf person. She’s
trying to fit in but is finding it hard and has no inclusion. Part way through the
dance they begin to include her which represents when the act first came out.
However, the act wasn’t perfect and still faced flaws. Another girl comes in and
represents the blind. Towards the end they include everyone which
represents the fixes/alterations made to the act.
What the Movement Represents
Wheelchair Dance Duet

While the other dance is more symbolic this dance physically represents something.
The dancer in the wheelchair represents people with disabilities as a whole. He is
showing who they are and what they can do. Rather than having him do the same
movements as the other dancer while still in his wheelchair they have him be himself
creating unique movement using the wheelchair. I love that they aren’t trying to
make him “blend in” and accommodate to look the same, rather they have him stand
out and be who he is .
Dance Space
Studios

Productions that explicitly are adapt

Appearance
The Americans with Disabilities Act dance has all four girls in plain black
tank top and leggings. There does not seem to be any intricate makeup,
jewelry, or other “decoration” that they are wearing.
The Wheelchair duet has the man in a white shirt and black pants. He is also
the dancer who is in the wheelchair. The woman in this dance is wearing a
maroon tank top and black pants.
Music and Sound
In the dance I choreographed the music has a slow steady beat throughout
the song. The beginning is quiet and soft but towards the end when the dance
gets happier the music gets louder with more instruments.

The wheelchair dance music on the other hand starts off loud and fast and
continues that way throughout the whole dance. One part of the song says, “I
need you like water.” I feel this song was chosen on purpose for the reason
that the guy needs the girl just as much as she needs him.
History of oppression
1973 Rehabilitation Act

Prohibits discrimination of people with

disabilities.

1990 Americans with Disability Act

Providing basic civil rights for people with

disabilities.
Evidence of Oppression: Stereotypes
A sad, but common stereotype of disabled people is that they are
incomplete or flawed because their disability has been around for a very
long time. It is something that most people do not even realize they are
thinking about when they see a disabled person and it takes a very
conscious effort to unlearn that way of thinking. This way of thinking has
denied disabled actors, dancers, and other performers from being able to
appear in more mainstream media because it was viewed as something that
should not be shown. Even today it can be hard for disabled performers to
get work because many places do not accommodate them. Something that
some disabled people have the privilege to have is a supportive family or
group to encourage them to keep doing things they love.
Evidence of Oppression: Stereotypes (cont.)
The fact that the AMericans with Disabilities Act is a thing to prevent people
from not hiring people with disabilities.The fact that there are people still
working on their dreams and even achieving their dreams is proof that
having support like that is truly a privilege.
Affects
I think that this has affected their culture in a positive way. Being disabled
should not stop you from being able to do something you love. If one person
just like the guy in the wheelchair can show he can do it, then it gives more
people the confidence to try it themselves. While it not only affected their
lives, it affects people who don’t have disabilities. It gives them an opportunity
to be creative and try something new and meet somebody who may dance
differently than them.
Continued suppression
The ADA has provided a guideline and structure so that continued
suppression should not be possible or tolerated. However, general population
acceptance of viewing people with disabilities in the art arena still has growth
opportunities. When we can experience a performance like this without
having a discussion about the awe of inclusion then we will be able to have
the full effect of acceptance.
There is also a suppression of access to studios that openly offer classes for
people with disabilities. A person with a disability in a wheelchair would want
to obtain a more adaptive wheelchair which can be costly, so cost could be a
suppression making this an elite sport.
Contribution to American Culture
There have been several people with disabled that have helped shape
America and therefore its culture. Americans with disabilities Franklin D.
Roosevelt(polio), Stephen Hawking(ALS), Helen Keller(blind and deaf), and
Marleen Matlin(deaf). These people have been presidents, physicists,
activists, and actors.
Traditions and Change
After the act was put into place many tradition had to change and there were
many additions to our society. For example, wheelchair ramps were added in
public places and transportation like buses required wheelchair lifts. Our
society changed around us to help make life easier for those that are disabled.
Just because a certain way we lived worked for us, didn’t mean it worked for
everybody.
Acculturation
Meaning: Assimilation of a different culture; typically a dominant culture.

Acculturation would require the dominant group, able-bodied people, to take

on dance or movement with the obstruction of physical or mental challenge.
This would not be something that would be seen as advantageous.
Conclusion - Sadie
I have reconnected with the value that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
There is so much more beauty to be found in the acceptance and inclusion of
more people and ways of life. Learning more about the American with
Disabilities Act and studying the struggle to be included has allowed me to see
some biases that I have had and opened up my view to change. I really
enjoyed watching the beautiful execution of these dances. Commonalities that
I see are that we all want to have ways that we can connect and engage with
others. We seek out opportunities to be seen, heard, and mostly understood
by one another.
Conclusion: Jamie
I think something that I have come to appreciate about this group is a
determination to prove people wrong. Throughout history these people have
overcome limitations that others put on them. Something that I think about is
the fact that disabled people can be any race, gender, sexuality, and
something could happen to anyone and change their lives. I think that the
more mainstream we let disabled people be the more we can hear different
stories, the more people can be involved in the arts, which I think is so
important to our society.
Conclusion: Riley
After our research on dancers with disabilities and The Americans with
Disabilities Act I’ve learned how important inclusion is. I’ve learned how
difficult life can be facing a disability in a world fun of people without
disabilities. It’s important to help make the world an easier place for everyone.
I’ve been able to watch some beautiful dances with dancers that have
disabilities such as this one with the wheelchair. It’s opened my mind to a
whole new definition of dance and what it entails. There is no specific
definition, in fact it’s different for everyone.
 Celebrating
Disability
By: Riley Fullmer, Jamie Eldredge,
and Sadie Fowers