no leg to stand on
2006
Touching upon the longing we all have to be seen, heard and understood, six performers of different abilities grapple with a first-time meeting with grace and virtuosity.
"The work exposes the vulnerability of the body itself, and uses the unexpected strategy whereby able-bodied dancers move using crutches and a wheelchair. The piece closes with able-bodied Cooper moving into a wheelchair. The movement references the opening phrase by Joy Cabilete, who has paraplegia and dances without the use of her legs, and reveals for us how she moves in and out of the chair. Cooper embodies symbolically the experience of being confined to a wheelchair, but her gentle repetition serves to dissolve the category of disability as 'otherness' and provokes a wider sense of community."
Mary Kelly, The Dance Current, 'Different Lens, Different Views'
choreographer Helen Walkley
creative collaborators/performers Joy Cabilete, Ann Cooper, Candice Larscheid, Mirae Rosner, Lawrence Shapiro, Ron Stewart
lighting designer Jonathan Ryder
commissioned by The Society for Disability Arts and Culture (now Kickstart Disability Arts and Culture); further supported by Canada Council for the Arts, BC Arts Council, Spirit of BC, BC Gaming Commission, Office of Cultural Affairs, The Dance Centre
