Learning by Example

An Interview with How We Move cohort artist Zen Spencer

BY EMMALY WIEDERHOLT; PHOTOS BY WHITNEY BROWNE

Zen Spencer is a multidisciplinary artist currently studying at Bennington College in Vermont, where she focuses on visual art and dance. She was a 2025 cohort artist of How We Move, a program for multiply marginalized disabled artists to move together, collaborate, and build cross-disability community. Here, Zen discusses her history as a dancer and how How We Move expanded her understanding of disability dance artistry, as well as how she hopes to take what she learned in the program back to her college dance environment.

This interview is part of a series on How We Move.

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How did you get into dance and what shaped you as an artist?

I began taking dance classes when I was three years old. My parents were told that I would probably not walk but my mom said I was dancing for her the whole last trimester. Since I have hemiplegia/pachygyria and I am smaller on the left side of my body, they put me in dance classes to help me with my strength and balance. I started at Harlem School of the Arts with Ms. Shipley. I have been dancing ever since. I started with ballet and then moved to modern when I was eight. I love modern and contemporary dance. I was dancing in programs outside of school too and really loved my time at Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy with Ms. Oshadi Kelly.

Then I went to a middle/high school with a dance program. I started to fall out of love with dance in eighth grade because the performances didn’t really have room for me and my disability. I had little spots here and there, but I couldn’t really do my thing. I almost stopped dancing until my mom took me to see Jerron Herman. He has a similar disability and it affects the same side of his body. It was the first time I saw anyone like me dancing. I got to talk to Jerron afterwards and he boosted my confidence. I started taking classes outside of school and switched to my school art program. When COVID hit, my teacher, Ms. Brittney Grier, held classes on Zoom. The next year, I had a weekend dance fellowship with Ms. Leah Tubbs for high school girls for a semester.

Then, in about 11th grade my mom took me to see for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf on Broadway and “The Lady in Purple,” played by Alexandria Wailes, used ASL. Something clicked in my brain about making sure that my disability was a part of my dance practice. I also took ASL as my language in high school.

When I started looking at colleges, I really wanted to be in a place that would support me and my disability – the physical and neurodivergent parts – and I found that at Bennington College in Vermont. I have a double focus in dance and art. My application included a dance piece I choreographed and my art portfolio.

In my first semester, I was nervous for my first dance class, but my professor, Levi Gonzalez, said ,“Everyone’s body articulates differently,” and that really boosted my confidence as a dancer. I have been able to keep that in mind. I have two more years to go, and I am excited. What shaped me has been the love and support from my parents and having teachers and mentors who believe in me.

What was your experience of How We Move?

It was amazing and different from anything that I have done. I had never danced with others with disabilities and it is so good to see and know that I can keep doing this. I got to lead my own workshop and it gave me more confidence when I go back to school and put what I have learned to work. All the cohort members were so kind, generous, and supportive. I learned how to better communicate my own access needs, which will help me speak up more and advocate for myself in class. What stands out to me most is the performance of Hector Machado’s accessible majorette choreography that the group shared at the June 25th event at Movement Research. I had never danced that way before. I had seen performances of it, admired it, but never thought I could do it. But I did! It took me out of my comfort zone.

Why are programs like How We Move important?

It’s important because artists with disabilities need to have communities where they can learn from one another and build connections. It’s also important because we can learn more about ourselves. It’s also important to have the public portion so that people without disabilities can be exposed to different people and learn how they can support artists with disabilities.

Will your experience of How We Move impact your artistic practice going forward? If so, how?

Yes. I will use what I learned in the workshops in my own practice and will bring some of the things I learned to my classes. I am taking a dance and disability class in the fall, and I know that I will have a lot to add to the discussion based on my experience.

What’s next for you? Do you have an upcoming project or focus you’d like to share more about?

I’m going back to school at Bennington College at the end of the summer and focusing on that. I am a junior and as part of my program, I have to present public work for three of the last four semesters. I am beginning to plan the third piece in a series that I started my senior year of high school. This piece will combine dance and animation.

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To learn more about How We Move, visit www.embracedbody.com/hwm.

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