Dance has always been a way for people to unite. In the same breath, festivals are often limited in their accessibility. But, a feast of dance showcasing dancers of all abilities is changing the narrative one move at a time:
Durban, South Africa (01 November 2023) — For too long, festivals across the world’s dance floors have been synonymous with conventional abilities of movement. However, in South Africa, a new age of dance is upon us thanks to the festival where all abilities are welcome.
FLATFOOT ACCESS FESTIVAL, only in its second edition, is a space where dance, accessibility and unity all get their moment in the spotlight. Beyond this, it is a celebration of FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY’S 20-year history of training dancers and performers whose talents society can often overlook.
“The journey toward access and training for dancers living with both intellectual and physical disabilties lies at the heart of FLATFOOT, and this small ever-growing festival,” says the dance company’s Artistic Director Lliane Loots.
“It is a wonderful moment of celebrating not just the incredible dancers, dance makers, and choreographers, but of the truly transformative power of dance to bind society together,” Lliane adds.
The festival for all abilities encompasses performances, including those by the FLATFOOT Downie Dance Company in a new work called ‘Now that We are Here…’, as well as the FLATFOOT ACCESS PANTHERS and their work, ‘finding home’.
Additionally, dancers using wheelchairs will showcase a new work called ‘The Infinite Space Between Us’ where three dancers delve into the culture of connection.
There will also be workshops and special guests, including dancers from WACO’s DANCE MOVEMENT (a dance project created to give youth, artists, dancers and people with disabilities dance training and skills development) and Jürg Kock from Switzerland whose dance integrates disabled and non-disabled performers.
Jürg will offer a deeply personal performance from his ‘The Printer’s Tray’ and is set to be part of a no-charge panel discussion alongside Lliane and Jarryd Watson.
The realisation of the Stable Theatre and FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY, the festival promises an encouraging space for accessible dance that’ll light up the wheelchair-friendly Stable Theatre in Durban on 2 and 3 December, right on time for South Africa’s National Disability Rights Awareness Month (03 November – 03 December).
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