Disability Belongs in Dance
DanceCast is a podcast that spotlights non-traditional dance artists. It is produced by Silva Laukkanen, an advocate for inclusive dance based in Austin, TX.
In this episode of DanceCast, Silva interviews Melissa van Wijk, founder and director of Born Dancing, a nonprofit based in New York City that creates performances featuring dancers with and without disabilities, orchestrates dance education opportunities for children with disabilities, and supports the entry of people with disabilities into the dance field. She shares how one day on a train in Manhattan she realized she had never been in a dance class with a person who uses a wheelchair or who is Deaf. It catalyzed an interest in integrating disability, in both performance and education spaces, that would reshape her life. She believes we should be teaching all students that disability belongs in dance.
Photo courtesy Melissa Van Wijk
Melissa van Wijk was born and raised in The Netherlands where she attended Dansakademie Brabant and performed with the Elisabeth Dancers and Dans Studio Gerda Zaandam. She is the founder and director of Born Dancing and serves as choreographer for their original dance productions and as lead dance educator for their education programs. She holds five NYS Teaching Certifications and has taught dance at NYC Public Schools in all five boroughs, working primarily in special education. Melissa has choreographed performances at The Cunningham Studio and Mulberry Street Theater among others. She is a doctoral candidate working on her dissertation research in Dance Education at Columbia University Teachers College. Previously Melissa worked as a Teaching Artist for New York City Ballet and Young Audiences. Melissa served as program director of an infant movement program at Gymtime/York Avenue Preschool and currently works as a SEIT (Special Education Itinerant Teacher) and Early Intervention Specialist in New York City.
To learn more about Born Dancing, visit www.borndancing.org.
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