viernes, 12 de julio de 2013

ART AND INCLUSION


                              PERFORMING ARTS AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Art has always been one of the principle means of human expression. Since dancing is one way of doing so, there are many associations that are concerned with it and also with the way in which people with disabilities are being considered for inclusion. In this research paper, an exploration of art Argentinean associations such as Mundo Alas, Grupo ALMA, Amar tango danza, and Spanish ones such as Flick Flock and Compañia Danza Mobile that work with disabled people and also life stories of four disabled dancers Demian Ariel Frontera, Reynaldo Ojeda, Zhai Xiawavei and Ma Li will be carried out.

     In Argentina, there are many groups that are involved in those disabled artists that express their feelings through dancing. For example, Mundo Alas is a project whose leader is the Argentine famous singer León Gieco. That project emerged two decades ago while singing in different recitals, what is more, the idea of developing it was not planed but commenced along the years. Gieco has been given the opportunity to show their abilities to many people with disabilities in his own recitals. As well as Mundo Alas, Grupo ALMA  is a dance company in Buenos Aires that specializes in partnering up wheelchair users with able-bodied people so that they can dance the tango. It was formed and managed by Susana Gonzales Gónz.in 1990. This group recognizes and respects individual similarities and differences, that is the reason why it has worked with equitable opportunities for many years. Moreover, this company works together with the former since many dancers that integrate Grupo ALMA perform in Mundo Alas project. Similarly, Amar Tango Danza is an association formed by parents whose children have disabilities. Its aim is to provide persons with different abilities and their parents with good attention, a place where to live and share experiences.
     Above all, there are many dancers that despite their disabilities make a real effort to show what they can do and what they are respected for. For instance, Demian Ariel Frontera was a gymnast in Argentina until he had an accident at the age of 14 which left him physically disabled. Since then, he has been performing and winning many dancing championships in different theatres, recitals, artistic and cultural events, among others. He together with his mother Susana Gonzalez Gonz direct the Grupo ALMA and also they take part in some of Leon Gieco´s recitals. Anyway, when salsa music is listened, Reynaldo Ojeda, a Colombian dancer, takes the stage. According to him, his biggest challenge was the disability itself he suffered due to his umbilical cord. It caused trouble in his left leg and the cord cut off the flow of blood causing the leg to die in his mother´s womb. Nowadays, he is considered one of the best salsa dancers that radiates enthusiasm and cheerfulness to those who see him performing. Similarly, Zhai Xiaowei is an artist that dances without a leg. He was not born with that physical disability,  on the contrary, at the age of four, an accident had caused him to lose his right leg. In his first years of life and mostly of his entire life, he had been a cyclist, however, he started to dance when he met Ma Li. She has always been a ballet dancer despite having lost her arm in an accident in 1996. “Hand in hand” is a known performance in which Zhai and Mali perform a contemporary dance, she without an arm and he without a leg.

     It is true that there are many skillful dancers around the world. That is why the Spanish association Flick Flock has members from different countries and with different disabilities such as visual and physical disabilities, people with hydrocephalus, among others. The company is directed by Rafael Navarro and Susana Alcón who developed that organization not only because of the integration that it implied but also for the artist purposes it carried out. Likewise, Compañia Danza Mobile is an association that was founded by Fernando Coronado y Esmeralda Valderrama in 1995. Its main objective is to demonstrate that art can transcend its aesthetic dimension and become a way of rupturing those false archetypes that are related to people with disabilities. The company does so by giving those persons the opportunities to evolve their abilities and by providing them with a place where to be in contact with the art of dancing.


     It is feasible to have a society which integrates and values artists not by what they lack but for what they are able to offer. To some extent, five among countless associations that exist around the world were described in this research paper that work mainly in Argentina and Spain by trying to change attitudes to disability which is in fact an uphill struggle. Furthermore, disabled dancers through their sublime performances evince that despite having a disability, it is possible to dance and to be an artist.




REFERENCE
·         Artistas discapacitados´website. Available at http://www.artistas.org.ar. Retrieved: July 6, 2013






  
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