aprii 2.2004 - iust
Breaking barriers
ometimes opportunities strike where you
least expect them.
S
Think you have no dance ability?
Think again.
For Erik Ferguson, studying and per
forming dance was the last thing he imag
ined would change his life. Now, the Portlander
is working as an intern for DanceAbility, a pio
neering teaching and performance method that
works with people of mixed abilities.
“1 never really considered myself a group
artist," says Ferguson, whose background is in
visual arts and activism. But it turns out the
program hits both those chords.
DanceAhility is a m ethod for exploring
movement improvisation. Created by Eugenes
Joint Forces Dance Company, it enables dis
covery of commonalities between people and
encourages and respects all peoples potential
for creative expression.
“T he first time 1 tried a dance class it was
a little scary,” Ferguson admits. “1 had to get
out of my wheelchair to get into the building
because there were no accessible ram ps....
O nce in there, there were no disabled people
in the class.” Worse yet, all students were
asked, he continues, “to go out into the mid
dle of the circle and make a m ovem ent with
our bodies."
Ferguson describes how his body “just react
ed. It made a movement, and it felt really good.
T hat night I went home and sort of danced
around in my living room and really [thought]
about my txxiy in terms of what I could do as
opposed to what it couldn’t do.”
According to Ferguson, DanceAhility
strives to show there are wonderful movement
possibilities inside the disabled body. “As some
one with cerebral palsy, my body can make
shapes that other peoples can’t. It’s important
to see these moves and movements as not
*
by J odi
being inferior to those of able-bodied people
but recognize them as equally beautiful.”
Last spring, Ferguson and Lark Jarvis, another
Portland DanceAhility iastructor, attended their
first workshop and mixed-abilities performances.
Both decided they wanted to continue this work
and to share it with others, so they completed a
monthlong DanceAhility teacher certification in
Trier, Germany, taught by Joint Forces Dance
Qimpany artistic director Alito Alessi.
“It all happened very quickly,” recalls Fergu
son. “It was an amazing trip. We spent all day
learning with Alito in the hottest summer on
record in Germany, then at the end of a work
shop we would take to the streets.”
N ot to be tourists, hut to be artists.
“In a lot of places there, disabled people
aren’t allowed in theaters. It sends a really
strong message when you hold performances in
public spaces,” Ferguson says. “You break down
a lot of social and class barriers when everyone
has access to the performances.”
I ince getting certified, Ferguson and Jarvis
have co-taught several introductory Dance-
' Ability workshops in Portland. Ferguson,
who is transgendered, also works with people
who have disabilities in Portland State Univer
sity’s assistive technology office. Jarvis is trained
as a body worker and has worked with people
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who have HIV and
other life-challenging
illnesses.
Joan Gunness, Dance-
Ability’s third Portland instructor,
has worked as a yoga instructor
and a dance teacher for 30 years.
The process that occurs through
DanceAhility is profound for teach
ers and students. “To see the evolution
of people’s relationship with their bodies
is amazing,” attests Ferguson. Participants
can’t help but learn important lessons
Y.
about themselves and others in their class.
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“There are preconceived notions that
people with disabilities should keep from
using their bodies in any way because it
will be embarrassing for them or because
able-bodied people will find it ugly or will look
at us with sympathy,” Ferguson adds. “There
needs to be a lot of work in both of those com
munities to dispel these notions and build a
working model that appreciates everyone.”
The diversity of DanceAhility is one of its
many strengths. The method is simple: Partici
pants begin to find a common denominator in
a group. W hen everyone in the group is mak
ing a movement with their body, everyone else
pays attention to what people around them are
doing, and they all find a way to do the same
out 53
dance. It’s based on inclu-
sivity— the idea that
everyone in the group
holds the information that
everyone else needs.
“We have people from
all backgrounds, all experi
ences and all physical abil
ities,” says Ferguson.
“W hether a member is
able-bodied, in a
wheelchair, queer or
transgendered, the
idea is to find com
monalities that we
all can work with."
Ferguson
s. hopes this type
shatters
I of forum will
preconceptions
I serve to break
about the disabled
down bound
\ body during
aries of
DanceAbility
DanceAbi
»
ableism
public
but also
performance
to shatter
M arch 28 at
stereotypes
Portland State about queers, particularly
U niversity
trans people. “I never in
my wildest dreams
thought that my work would he in dance,” he
laughs. “I think this work is really important
for everyone— teachers, participants and
observers. It’s life-changing.” J H
Û
series of D a n c e A b il it y classes begins April 3.
For more information call 503*725-5664 or e-mod
sdu@mail. pdx. edu.
A
JODI D a r b y
is a Portland free-lance writer.