Saturday, February 27, 2016

Dance/NYC 2016 Pre-Symposium

This event has already occurred. Please enjoy photos and event information below.

When: Saturday, February 27, 2016, 10:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Where: Gibney Dance, 280 Broadway (enter at 53 Chambers), New York, NY
Accessibility: Gibney Dance is an accessible venue. Wheelchair ramps and elevators are available via the 280 Broadway entrance. If you require reasonable accommodations please contact Michele Kumi Baer at least two weeks prior to this event.

Dance/NYC's 2016 Pre-Symposium (Photo Credit: Dance/NYC).

Photo credit: Hassan Christopher

Disability. Dance. Artistry. Pre-Symposium Sessions

This Pre-Symposium program is a part of Dance/NYC’s initiative to increase access and inclusion to the art form, and is presented in partnership with Art Beyond Sight, Inclusion in the Arts, and the New Jersey Theatre Alliance. The sessions require separate registration and are available at no cost to Symposium attendees on a first-come, first-served basis. All sessions take place at Gibney Dance’s 280 Broadway location.

Session I: Beyond Accessibility
Gibney Dance, Studio D

Beyond Accessibility: A Workshop with Inclusion in the Arts and the New Jersey Theatre Alliance
10:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

What does it take to make your organization and its programming truly inclusive to disabled patrons and artists? Arts Advocacy leaders from Inclusion in the Arts and the New Jersey Theatre Alliance will go beyond accessibility to impart key principles and practices that promote full inclusion in the performing arts. In this 90-minute deep dive, arts administrators, dance makers, and facilities managers will come away with the tools to promote an inclusive culture at their organizations. Participation is open to all Symposium ticket holders on a first-come, first-served basis.

Session II: Cultural Territories of Disability
Gibney Dance, Studio H/Theater

Disability. Dance. Artistry. Research Release
12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m.

Lane Harwell, Executive Director of Dance/NYC, and Alice Sheppard, artist/academic/activist, will present highlights from Dance/NYC’s new Disability. Dance. Artistry. research, which includes comprehensive recommendations for how various members of the city’s dance community can help increase inclusion and access to dance. Unlike previous Dance/NYC reports, Disability. Dance. Artistry. also features essays written by leaders in the field and is grounded by a foreword by one of America’s foremost experts on disability and the arts, Simi Linton.

10-minute intermission

Invitation to Dance: Screening of the Documentary and Q&A
1:40 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

About the film, Invitation to Dance, by Christian von Tippelskirch and Simi Linton:

Poster for In 1971, Simi Linton was injured while hitchhiking to Washington to protest the war in Vietnam. Suddenly a young disabled college student, she confronted insidious forms of discrimination she couldn't have imagined before. Over time she joined forces with a vibrant disability community, and realized that political engagement, love, and dance could once again be central to her life.

Rock 'n' Roll, dancing, and sexuality liberated Simi from the shame she felt as a newly disabled woman. INVITATION TO DANCE traces Simi's first reluctant foray onto the dance floor at a party to present day when dance has become a central theme in her social life, activism, and work. Ultimately, the film is a never-before-told coming out story of disabled people staking their claim to "equality, justice, and a place on the dance floor!” Featured in the documentary are pioneering disabled dance artists, who have chosen dance as their profession and bring their artistry to stages around the globe.

Learn more about the film and the filmmakers.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A, featuring:
Christian von Tippelskirch, Producer and Director, INVITATION TO DANCE
Simi Linton, Producer and Director, INVITATION TO DANCE; Dance/NYC Disability Task Force Member
Alice Sheppard, Disability Dance Works, Dance/NYC Board Member and Disability Task Force Member