“I love to compete in para dance even though I know I will not win because I know they will judge me as a dancer, not as a wheelchair dancer.” Slovenian para dancer Nastija Fijolič shares some of her frustrations with aspects of para dance sport but why it is ultimately her home and community.
“My dream is for my disability friends to access any type of dance and that we can be accepted as we are.” Lusi Insiati, a dancer in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, shares her experience finding and pursuing dance through the inclusive dance troupe Nalitari.
“My work is no longer about what my body produces; it’s not what my body does, but what my body is.” Australian performance artist Hanna Cormick discusses how her artistic practice has become a reclamation of body through radical visibility.
“We need role models in this field so there’s somebody who other disabled people can copy or aspire to be, but I don’t think that’s possible unless more dancers come into this field. I personally think it’s very important to establish the status of disabled dancers and train more disabled dancers.” Kazuyo Morita, a dancer and actress from Osaka, Japan, shares how crucial role models are to motivating people with disabilities to try dance.
“I don’t really mind being called inspiring, but I hope the dance itself was inspiring as much as the dancer onstage. I want to inspire people with good dance.” Netherlands-based b-boy and ILL-Abilities member Redouan “Redo” Ait Chitt shares how what drives him is to be a good dancer, period.