Dance, Disability and Law

Sarah Whatley is professor of dance at Coventry University. Charlotte Waelde is professor of intellectual property law at Coventry University. Shawn Harmon is a deputy director at the Mason Institute. Abbe Brown is a reader at the University of Aberdeen. Karen Wood is a dance practitioner, researcher, and educator. Hetty Blades is a research fellow at Coventry University.

The six coeditors of this reference, who are variously scholars of dance and law, focus on the nexus between normative (often idealized) dance, what the British call disabled dance, and the law. The text highlights the fact that dancers with disabilities don’t conform to the expected parameters of athleticism and grace that epitomize most able-bodied performance. These dancers are often marginalized, and public awareness of the vast talent expressed by dancers with disabilities is therefore limited; the audience has very different expectations of the performance of a dancer with a disability versus an able-bodied performer's. The volume's contributors are chiefly British; most are performers with a disability who share their experiences and knowledge, highlighting both the challenges faced on a daily basis as well as the passionate joy of creating an enjoyable production. Many productions described in this text aim to dismantle societal stereotypes of disability by inviting the audience to experience the dynamics of living with a disability. Equal rights and accessibility to events are mandated by the Disability Discrimination Act of Britain. Though focused on the UK, this text offers an engaging look at a relatively understudied community.

• PrefaceSita Popat IntroductionSarah Whatley, Charlotte Waelde, Shawn Harmon, Abbe Brown, Karen Wood, Kate Marsh and Mathilde Pavis Section I: Disability, Dance and Critical FrameworksChapter 1: Disabled Dance: Barriers to Proper Inclusion within Our Cultural MilieuShawn Harmon, Charlotte Waelde and Sarah Whatley Chapter 2: Cultural Heritage and the Unseen CommunityFiona Macmillan Chapter 3: An Analysis of Reporting and Monitoring in Relation to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Right to Participation in Cultural Life and Intellectual PropertyCatherine Easton Chapter 4: A Dance of Difference: The Tripartite Model of Disability and the Cultural Heritage of DanceDavid Bolt and Heidi Mapley Chapter 5: In a Different Light? Broadening the Bioethics Perspective through DanceShawn Harmon Section II: Disability, Dance and the Demands of a New AestheticChapter 6: A Wondering (in Three Parts)Luke Pell Chapter 7: A New Foundation: Physical Integrity, Disabled Dance and Cultural HeritageAbbe Brown, Shawn Harmon, Kate Marsh, Mathilde Pavis, Charlotte Waelde, Sarah Whatley and Karen Wood Chapter 8: Disability and Dance: The Disabled Sublime or Joyful Encounters?Janice Richardson Chapter 9: Moving Towards a New Aesthetic: Dance and DisabilityShawn Harmon, Kate Marsh, Sarah Whatley and Karen Wood Chapter 10: What We Can Do with Choreography, and What Choreography Can Do with UsA conversation between Catherine Long and Nicola Conibere Chapter 11: Dancing Identity: The Journey from Freak to Hero and BeyondEimir McGrath Chapter 12: Dance Disability and Aesthetics: A Changing DiscourseMargaret Ames Section III: Disability, Dance and Audience EngagementChapter 13: The (Disabled) Artist Is PresentClaire Cunningham Chapter 14: Disability, Disabled Dance Audiences and the Dilemma of Neuroaesthetic Approaches to Perception and InterpretationBree Hadley Chapter 15: Finding It When You Get ThereAdam Benjamin