InVisible Difference Project-AHRC | DanceSpace -- Stories for Dance

InVisible Difference

The InVisible Difference project sought to extend current thinking that surrounds the making, status, ownership and value of work by contemporary dance choreographers. The consortium included researchers from two different disciplines – dance and law – whose primary focus is on dance made and performed by disabled dance artists because society still has a long way to go before dancers with impairments are fully integrated within mainstream dance performance.

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Project Overview

We asked why this is the case; what is it in existing theoretical and legal frameworks that helps or hinders the participation of disabled dance artists in the mainstream? We worked closely with disabled dancers to consider perceptions of creation, interpretation and authorship. In doing so, we sought to uncover and discover new ways of thinking about how dance that is made and performed by disabled dancers contributes to our cultural lives. We hoped this would strengthen the case for change (where necessary) in working practices and the legal frameworks that underpinned the artists' work.

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Research Questions

What are the economic realities for a disabled dance practitioner?
Is the disabled dancing body more exposed to public consumption than the non-disabled body?
How do we value dance made by and performed by disabled dancers?
Can dance made by disabled artists find its rightful place in our cultural heritage?

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Research

Dancers with disabilities encounter unique challenges. The professional dance community broadly supports the removal of labels such as ‘inclusive performance’. Such labels mark disabled dance artists out as ‘other’. Yet, disabled dance artists and performers like Claire Cunningham, Caroline Bowditch and David Toole are slowly making their mark upon the mainstream dance world. There is, however, a long way to go before disabled dances artists are fully integrated. The InVisible Difference project recognises this.

The InVisible Difference project examined the different models of disability alongside empirical observations of the development of choreography by and for disabled dancers. The project aimed to uncover new ways of thinking about how dance is made and performed by disabled dancers. We also assessed how the nature of this choreography interacts with intellectual property law and the concepts of authorship and ownership. We considered disability, human rights and copyright law from UK domestic legislation to international law. In this we assessed how the law compliments or conflicts with dance, and the extent to which the legislation encourages and protects the creativity of disabled performers.

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Practice and legal framework

We asked why this is the case; what is it in existing theoretical and legal frameworks that helps or hinders the participation of disabled dance artists in the mainstream? We worked closely with disabled dancers to consider perceptions of creation, interpretation and authorship. In doing so, we sought to uncover and discover new ways of thinking about how dance that is made and performed by disabled dancers contributes to our cultural lives. We hoped this would strengthen the case for change (where necessary) in working practices and the legal frameworks that underpinned the artists' work.

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Fieldwork Observations

Our fieldwork reflected the multi-disciplinary approach to the InVisible Difference project.

We have conducted empirical observations with dance artists and choreographers to better understand how dance created by and for disabled people, is made. This has assisted our understanding of how the law intertwines with dance, and how this interaction affects the dancers and choreographers themselves.

Our observations were primarily focussed upon two dancers and choreographers, Caroline Bowditch and Claire Cunningham, with observations taking place mainly in Glasgow, Coventry and the Candoco Studios in London. We also conducted observations with Welly O'Brien, Kimberley Harvey, Chisato Minimamura and Marc Brew.

We were very fortunate to observe Claire working on Give me a reason to live, a solo performance inspired by the work of medieval Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch. We also observed Claire working on Guide Gods, which explored the perspectives of disability as held by world faiths. A short clip of Guide Gods can be found here.

During our work with Caroline, we observed the choreographic process surrounding the creation, and the rehearsals, of Falling in Love with Frida, winner of a Herald Angel award at the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. A short clip of Frida and the audience response to the work can be viewed here.

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Outputs

The project produced a series of outputs which include journal articles, policy briefs, consultation papers with their respective responses, conference papers given, poster presentations and finally, miscellaneous publications.

To see the entire list please go here:

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Contact details-InVisible Difference

If you would like further information about the project, please contact karen.wood@coventry.ac.uk.

We will be sending out bi-annual newsletters containing updates on project activity, upcoming events and publications. If you would like to be kept informed and would like to join our mailing list.

Please contact:

karen.wood@coventry.ac.uk.

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Follow-on after the project

The follow-on project will enable us to address the need, as voiced by the dance community, for tools that will have an impact on the resilience of disabled dance artists and will support the ‘inclusion agenda’ promoted by arts funders, promoters and artist organisations.

The aims of the project are therefore to:

Cultivate a deeper awareness and better understanding of the legal, commercial, ethical and aesthetic issues surrounding artworks made and performed by dancers with disabilities.
Engage a broad spectrum of stakeholders who can effect change in the development, evaluation and distribution of the Toolkit including: policymakers (including the Arts Council England and the UK Intellectual Property Office), the British Council; professional dance organisations (Dance UK, People Dancing), theatre programmers, curators and educators as well as professional dancers and their audiences.
To meet the dual aims of this project, two distinct but interrelated and targeted impact activities are proposed: the development of an Online Toolkit and a stakeholder workshop.

This new project will focus on an unanticipated outcome of the InVisible Difference: Disability, Dance and Law project, namely, the lack of knowledge amongst those in the professional dance sector and its audiences about the working lives of dancers with disabilities and how this impacts directly on their ability to make, produce and share their work.

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