Opinion
Katarzyna Żeglicka (Poland) reflects on the dramaturgy and documentation of diverse dance
OpinionResource
February 3, 2022
Katarzyna Żeglicka is a queer disabled performer, dancer, choreographer and self-defence trainer, and one of a new generation of disabled artists who are challenging ableism in the performing arts. Katarzyna was one of the artists chosen for the fourth Europe Beyond Access artist laboratory The dramaturgy of movement transitions, which took place in Italy in September 2021 and was hosted by our project partner Oriente Occidente.
An interview with Natalija Vladisavljević
OpinionResource
April 28, 2021
Interview To Meet in Contemporary Dance, with choreographer and performer Natalija Vladisavljević, originally published in the online magazine Portal o invalidnosti, organizacije Iz kruga – Vojvodina. Translation to English by Frosina Dimovska.
Open letter to major European policymakers demands full participation of people with disabilities in the arts
OpinionResource
December 3, 2020
On the International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2020, members of the European Arts & Disability Cluster have written an open letter to multiple European policymakers to ensure the European cultural programme 2021-2027 has the full participation of people with disabilities as artists, as arts professionals and as audiences. The cluster represents multiple transnational collaborative projects and initiatives focussed on the work of professional disabled artists. The open letter is published in full below.
‘You can always find a connection’: an interview with Sonja Parmentier
OpinionResource
May 7, 2020
In the most recent DanceAble, Holland Dance Festival invited dancer, teacher and choreographer Sonja Parmentier to deliver a series of masterclasses in which she focused on finding connections between dancers.
Naked and disabled: the body as a site of strength and beauty
OpinionResource
May 5, 2020
There is a long tradition of artists and performers being drawn towards nudity as a tool of shock, vulnerability, truth and raw self-expression. It places the body in the public eye, revealing what is usually hidden, and uses explicitness and intimacy to spotlight the audience’s gaze as part of the meaning-forming process. Voyeurs, spectators, observers are not as innocently passive as once thought.
From Portugal to Poland: coming to Warsaw as an international disabled artist-in-residence
OpinionResource
April 7, 2020
The first disabled artist to receive the EU’s i-Portunus fund, Portuguese dancer Diana Bastos Niepce speaks about her experience undertaking a residency in Poland with learning disabled-led company Teatr 21. During the residency, Diana collaborated with the choreographer Justyna Wielgus, performing in her directorial debut “PokaZ” at Warsaw’s Zachęta National Gallery of Art. The piece interrogated the act of looking, what we see and what remains hidden, the limitations that stereotypes place on our identities – a challenge to the ‘socially acceptable’.
The long read: Dance and Disability in Poland
Country Profile, OpinionResource
March 24, 2020
By Alicja Müller (translated by Marta Dziurosz). Read the full version published in Polish on taniecpolska.pl
Italian artist Chiara Bersani on COVID-19 and disability
OpinionResource
March 24, 2020
Chiara Bersani is an Italian performing artist and choreographer whose work in theatre and contemporary dance explores the politics of the body and how the images we create interact with society’s narratives. In 2019, she took part in a Europe Beyond Access residency at Festival Oriente Occidente and previously participated in Aerowaves and Moving Beyond Inclusion. Here, she reflects on ableist responses to a public health emergency and how disabled bodies are framed during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Katarzyna Żeglicka: There are no borders between dance and disability
OpinionResource
December 17, 2019
Katarzyna Żeglicka is a Polish artist taking part in Europe Beyond Access, a transnational programme supporting disabled artists to internationalise their careers. This is her experience of the programme so far, including workshops that took place at Rozbark Theatre in the small town of Bytom, Poland, that were also part of ‘Dance and Disability: Crossing the Borders’ organised by the Institute of Music and Dance and the British Council.
Why we need more disabled choreographers
OpinionResource
November 14, 2019
Co-founder of Candoco Dance Company (the first professional company for disabled and non-disabled dancers), Adam Benjamin co-led the third Europe Beyond Access artist laboratory in Maastricht, The Netherlands. Hosted by Holland Dance Festival, the lab provided artists from across Europe the opportunity to collaborate, create duets and group work, and develop their own choreographic voices.