FL
O
RE
N
CE
JUST
DANCE
D an c e A bi l i t y p r e s e nt s
‘ Do n ’ t L e a v e M e ’
Weaving dance, music and architecture, “Don’t Leave Me”
features professional dancers with and without disabilities.
COURTESY PHOTOS
“D
on’t Leave
Me” is an
enthralling
modern dance performance
that celebrates creativity and
the potential that is only pos-
sible when people with and
without disabilities work
together as equals.
This is the first professional mixed-
abilities performance to ever be shown in
Florence. It is also the first time that
DanceAbility International will perform
in Florence.
“Don’t Leave Me” is presented by the
DanceAbility International dance compa-
ny in collaboration with the University of
Oregon School of Architecture, which
designed the set structures. The show
8 • C OAST
explores how we are all dependent on
each other and how space determines
action and vice versa.
The dancers use the ever-changing set
design as apparel, as furniture, and as
architecture. The human and architectural
bodies act as a symbiotic community.
This performance examines a spectrum
of relationships between people and
spaces, from how orientations and struc-
C ENTRAL • A rt s & E n t e r ta in me n t • J U NE 2 0 1 6
tures can constrict to how architecture
can open opportunities for movement by
responding to specific situation and
inhabitants.
This cross-discipline collaboration of
dance and architecture takes risks with
frames and bodies.
During a rehearsal, one of the dancers
was high up on the designed structure
and felt it start to shake. She immediately
called out to the dancers below her
“don’t leave me!”
This became the title of the piece.
It speaks to our interdependence, and
also the DanceAbility method belief that
nobody should be left out or left behind.
This performance will open audience’s
hearts and minds. It shows the unlimited
potential of people when disabilities are
not viewed as something inferior.
The dancers with and without disabili-
ties create and express together as
equals. DanceAbility International per-
formances surprise and delight, as they
dissolve labels and barriers.
This project is made possible in part
by Western Lane Community
Foundation, Plum Creek Foundation and
Lane County Cultural Coalition, with
operating support from Lane Arts
Council and Oregon Arts Commission.
“Don’t Leave Me” will be performed
Friday, June 10, at 7 p.m., at the Florence
Events Center, 715 Quince St. For tick-
ets, go to www.eventcenter.org.