Tag: dance and disability

Watch and Learn Kitty Lunn’s Ballet, Graham, and Horton Transpositions for Students With Disabilities

Kitty Lunn is a trailblazer in making dance accessible for people with disabilities. When an accident 35 years ago left the then-professional ballerina paraplegic and using a wheelchair, Lunn took her dance training into her own hands. After six major spinal surgeries and years of daily physical therapy, Lunn returned to open classes at Steps […]

3 Standout Statements From Luna Dance Institute's Dance and Disability Panel

This past Saturday, I visited Luna Dance Institute in Berkeley, California, to attend the Dance & Disability Discourse & Panel—a discussion with five artists, educators and researchers about access and equity for disabled students in dance education. Here are three statements from the discussion that I found eye-opening. “There are things that haven’t changed in […]

Where Race and Disability Intersect

At the first Disability. Dance. Artistry Town Hall in July, Simi Linton, Marc Brew and Dianne McIntyre discussed dance makers on disability. Last night I attended Dance/NYC’s second Disability. Dance. Artistry. Town Hall event at New York Live Arts. The topic of discussion—disability, race and the practice of dance—brought together Dr. Carrie Sandahl, associate professor of disability […]

A Teacher in Charleston Finds a New Normal after a Debilitating Spinal Cord Injury

Life changed for Marka Danielle Rodgers four years ago when a driver ran a red light and T-boned her car. The crash left her an incomplete quadriplegic (meaning she still has some nerve function below the point of injury), but it hasn’t stopped her from teaching ballet. Now, she leads class from her wheelchair, using […]