Hello Paula, Really interesting video, i do think that the fact that dance is now becoming accessible to more and more people is truly brilliant, however i do think that Sarah is right when she says that "were only scratching the surface, but we are scratching" sums it up that its slowly getting there for dance for the disabled to be recognised and globally recognised as a worthy qualification for them. I think its great that the young disabled lady had graduated on a dance programme but there are going to be pros and cons to this.
I think that on the positive side like sarah at the university is saying, dance is becoming more accessible to everyone which long-term means dance will become more recognised in many more institutions and universities this leading to more qualified, experienced dancers that could be future teachers, i think that Coventry University gives a fair and equal opportunity for disabled people and shows that it can be done with visible evidence and actual results. However i think that the cons are that can dance for the disabled only be in contemporary? I understand what the teachers and student are saying that contemporary breaks boundaries ect but what about ballet or tap? Does the framework of the qualification have to change for disabled? Is it going to cause controversy for dancers that aren't disabled as they will be qualified with the same?Is there really a chance for disabled people to get dance work? Are institutions going to back them up, because teachers may not be experienced or have any knowledge how to teach the disabled? Will the institutions have the facilities?
Dont get me wrong i am for everyone been able to do dance, thats what i as a teacher want, however these areas do need addressing. Im not sure if i think that a dance degree should be given purely on one genre as i think that a dance degree should be awarded on many styles of dance as dance is to broad a word to single it to one subject so maybe degree in contemporary dance? As far as getting work for a disabled dancers there could be a company that will only employ disabled dancers, if there isn't i'm sure that it would be a great investment and successful business for a production company to set up disabled only auditions and performances where this would give opportunity for disabled people to be guaranteed jobs. Finally for the teaching side, i think that Sarah from coventry university would be ideal for doing workshops and courses for dance teachers to learn and experience what it involved and expected of people when teaching disabled people, because if it is becoming that accessible then teachers need to know how to do it.
Thanks for your comments Abbi - there are a lot of issues that could be argued either way, and I think they are in certain contexts. Various organisations also have different ways of defining and addressing these issues, many based on ideological rationale. 'Disability' could even be argued to be a contested term in certain contexts and valued in others. Really interesting work though and worth keeping up with in terms of research. Paula
Hello Paula, Really interesting video, i do think that the fact that dance is now becoming accessible to more and more people is truly brilliant, however i do think that Sarah is right when she says that "were only scratching the surface, but we are scratching" sums it up that its slowly getting there for dance for the disabled to be recognised and globally recognised as a worthy qualification for them.
ReplyDeleteI think its great that the young disabled lady had graduated on a dance programme but there are going to be pros and cons to this.
I think that on the positive side like sarah at the university is saying, dance is becoming more accessible to everyone which long-term means dance will become more recognised in many more institutions and universities this leading to more qualified, experienced dancers that could be future teachers, i think that Coventry University gives a fair and equal opportunity for disabled people and shows that it can be done with visible evidence and actual results.
However i think that the cons are that can dance for the disabled only be in contemporary? I understand what the teachers and student are saying that contemporary breaks boundaries ect but what about ballet or tap? Does the framework of the qualification have to change for disabled? Is it going to cause controversy for dancers that aren't disabled as they will be qualified with the same?Is there really a chance for disabled people to get dance work? Are institutions going to back them up, because teachers may not be experienced or have any knowledge how to teach the disabled? Will the institutions have the facilities?
Dont get me wrong i am for everyone been able to do dance, thats what i as a teacher want, however these areas do need addressing.
Im not sure if i think that a dance degree should be given purely on one genre as i think that a dance degree should be awarded on many styles of dance as dance is to broad a word to single it to one subject so maybe degree in contemporary dance? As far as getting work for a disabled dancers there could be a company that will only employ disabled dancers, if there isn't i'm sure that it would be a great investment and successful business for a production company to set up disabled only auditions and performances where this would give opportunity for disabled people to be guaranteed jobs. Finally for the teaching side, i think that Sarah from coventry university would be ideal for doing workshops and courses for dance teachers to learn and experience what it involved and expected of people when teaching disabled people, because if it is becoming that accessible then teachers need to know how to do it.
Thanks for your comments Abbi - there are a lot of issues that could be argued either way, and I think they are in certain contexts. Various organisations also have different ways of defining and addressing these issues, many based on ideological rationale. 'Disability' could even be argued to be a contested term in certain contexts and valued in others. Really interesting work though and worth keeping up with in terms of research. Paula
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