People Dancing: changing perceptions through inclusion and intervention

This project will examine the intersection between dance and disability in the UK and the impact of strategic and artistic interventions in the dance landscape aiming at changing people's perceptions of difference in dance. Working with People Dancing, the project will seek to look at the short and long-term impact of their project: '11Million Reasons' before going on to develop a dance and disability intervention that examines what impact interventions can have on the public, on performance spaces and venues, as well as arts organisations and policymakers. With a base in Leicester, People Dancing works with, and on behalf of artists, organisations and teachers involved in leading, delivering or supporting community and participatory dance. Their mission is to "transform the lives of individuals and communities through dance". People Dancing's "leadership of the community dance network provides a platform for exchange, critical debate and peer learning, exposure to diverse dance practices, new contacts, and expands professional horizons in terms of profile and professional identity". Their membership reaches in excess of 4,500 dance professionals worldwide.

'11 Million Reasons' was conceptualised by People Dancing in 2014 to positively profile Deaf and disabled people who dance. The project developed from their core vision to 'desegregate' Deaf and disabled people from anyone else that dances, and to "help facilitate a change in perceptions that can surround disabled people dancing". With funding from Unlimited Impact, People Dancing commissioned emerging disabled photographer, Sean Goldthorpe to create 20 high quality images inspired by iconic dance moments in film in which Deaf and disabled people are centre stage, re-imagining iconic roles from well-known and loved films from a diversity of genres. They are described as "stunning, powerful, emotive, and humorous images [that] are diverse - with many bringing a subtle but relevant message".
By using '11 Million Reasons' as a focus point for the study, the student will explore the decision making processes that led to this work, the reasons why the dance and photographic artists got involved, as well as the short and long-term impact the project has on audiences, performers, and the venues in which the project is exhibited. The student will evaluate the extent to which the project met People Dancing's aims. The learning from the project will then feed into an artistic exploration of art-as-intervention, devised and presented by the student on a theme and within a medium that draws on the student's own expertise and interests, to better understand how creative processes interact with political and social ideologies as well as corporate agendas.

The project grows from a long-term collaboration between the Centre for Dance Research at Coventry University and People Dancing, and builds on the knowledge generated as part of the AHRC-funded project 'InVisible Difference: Dance, Disability and Law', led by Sarah Whatley. The project will also feed into a range of sector-leading national initiatives (to which Whatley and Conibere are contributing) that are building partnerships between artists, researchers and policy makers to provide effective advocacy for disabled people in the wider dance and arts community. The aim is for the project to provide People Dancing with a deep evaluation of '11 Million Reasons' and its role in furthering the organisation's aims and strategy. A further aim is for the project to influence public policy relating to arts support particularly for artists and communities who are often marginalised, and to provide further evidence of the UK's leading expertise in the area of participatory and inclusive dance.