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Hey now, we haven’t had a Disability Art and Culture Project (DACP) update on this blog in a long time. So here we go! Check out the current dancers in this integrated dance company of youth and young adults with and without disabilities:

[Image description: Seven teen and young adult dancers strike poses in front of a bright blue building.]

There are dance and performance companies where all the performers are disabled. There are some with performers who have physical disabilities but none with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Inclusive Arts Vibe Dance Company (IAVDC) has a mix of non-disabled dancers as well as dancers with a huge range of experiences around disability. Here’s a group shot from a few years ago during a performance. This is a group that knows how to have a lot of fun:

[Image description: Nine dancers with and without disabilities onstage, wearing grungy, punk-inspired costumes strike poses at the end of a dance piece. Photo by Shannon Knight.]

IAVDC is having their bi-annual spring performance. While they do performances at various community events, the spring performance is their well-deserved full-length dance concert. This year it’s May 8th – 10th, and you will not want to miss it.

Now’s your chance to support the event by donating through the IAVDC Kickstarter. They have one month to raise $5000. Kickstarter is all or nothing. And every donation, no matter how large or small, is a wonderful step toward success.

Please check out this lovely (and subtitled!) video. Visit their Kickstarter campaign page and show your support! Don’t forget to share, share, share this campaign. In fact, here’s the link you can click on, copy, and paste into emails, messages, Facebook or LinkedIn updates, or anywhere your heart desires: kickstarter.com/projects/251952334/inclusive-arts-vibe-dance-company.

IAVDC isn’t a “special arts” program. It’s a dance company where people with all bodies and all minds foster and grow their creativity through collaboration. Dancers don’t attempt to conform to a stuffy notion of what dance is, what beauty looks like, or how art is made. Instead, they’re empowered to create dance and choreography that comes from their true authentic selves. And in this way, in this rejection of toe shoes and of moving like clones of each other, really what they’re doing is participating in social justice work. Since 2005 or so, I’ve performed with DACP at their bi-annual festival, volunteered backstage at performances, sat in the audience, and served on the Board of Directors for four years. I’m really behind this organization and the very innovative, gorgeous work IAVDC does.

With your support of this fundraising campaign, we can document the performances with professional videography and photography, and also provide a more accessible experience for the audience by securing Audio Description and ASL interpretation services.

Check out Inclusive Arts Vibe Dance Company on Kickstarter!