Open AccessRaising the Bar in Disability Arts
Author(s) -
Menka Nagrani
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
canadian journal of disability studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1929-9192
DOI - 10.15353/cjds.v10i2.802
Subject(s) - dance , excellence , context (archaeology) , quality (philosophy) , raising (metalworking) , sociology , the arts , performing arts , subject (documents) , visual arts , psychology , aesthetics , pedagogy , art , computer science , political science , engineering , history , law , mechanical engineering , philosophy , archaeology , epistemology , library science
This article discusses my pedagogical approach towards teaching dance, movement, and theatre to artists with cognitive disabilities. I have developed a training method for artists participating in my classes and productions that invites individual creative exploration and professional rigour. My inclusive dance-theatre company, Les Productions des pieds des mains, creates productions that are presented on professional artistic platforms and not limited to the context of disabled art presentations. Our productions are regularly subject to the same selection criteria as would be a non-inclusive company. With this in mind, I aim for excellence. I work towards creating high quality shows while helping artists with a disability push past their perceived limits and surpass themselves. In this article I will share my findings and strategies, perfected throughout my many years of experimentation, explaining how to reach a high-level of quality in inclusive productions, as well as how I help artists with a disability reach a level of quality in their performances which allows them to find gainful employment within the artistic domain.