Professional Integrated Dance for Dancers with Disabilities: Dancing Her Way Thr

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Professional Integrated Dance for Dancers with Disabilities: Dancing

Her Way Through Life

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/49257

By Pam Vetter

In Atlanta, Georgia, Laurel Lawson performs as a dancer with Full

Radius Dance, a modern dance company that includes dancers with

disabilities in integrated dance.

" Full Radius Dance might ideally run at 50% each of dancers with and

without disabilities. Right now we have two people who are using

wheelchairs and two apprentices with disabilities. We do major

concerts twice a year and perform in several festivals, as well as

doing smaller shows throughout the year. After auditioning four

years ago, I joined the company. Dancing helps keep me in shape. I

dance in the studio at least nine hours a week, and I get out of it

the same things that my able-bodied colleagues do. It's very

challenging; there's no end to the work. There's always more work to

improve dance, so much more to be exposed to in integrated dance, "

Lawson explained. " The disabled community seems unaware of the

concept that dance could be a career choice. One of the biggest

problems we have is actively recruiting dancers with disabilities. "

Watching the video of a performance online at

www.FullRadiusDance.org, viewers around the world can see how

beautiful integrated dance is on stage.

For Lawson, she's always had a great love of theatre, dance and

music since childhood.

Born with a congenital disability in which her spinal cord was

crushed from T10 to L5, Lawson retained very limited functionality

below the waist. An energetic child, she was athletic.

" At the age of three, I was crawling up and down the basketball

court. I wanted to play. My mother would have to take me off the

court. I've always been athletic. By the age of five, I had my first

wheelchair and they put me on the basketball court to play. I became

actively involved in the American Association for Adapted Sports

Programs that provides sports programs to children with

disabilities. When we were going to lose our funding from the

county, I had my first media appearance at the age of six. My mother

arranged an interview. The county was deluged by calls from a couple

thousand people because they thought the cut in funding also

affected the football teams. We used media stunts and the funding

was restored, " Lawson said. " Public embarrassment is a useful

weapon. "

Beginning at the age of 16, Lawson got involved in advocacy for

disability rights. Lawson remains proud of her experience working in

advocacy two weekends a month for nearly a decade in Washington, D.C.

" I got a lot of grounding in the movement and I was privileged to

work with Dart, " Lawson explained. " A lot of people with

disabilities are not treated fairly and we still have a very long

way to go. Theatre is certainly a challenge. I've found few

directors willing to consider casting me, in any role that is not

specifically for a person with a disability. Often the script does

not say whether the character has a disability or not so it's

irrelevant. There are people with disabilities who are working

actors. It comes down to awareness. We keep struggling with being

relegated to 'inspirational.' I'm not a supercrip; I'm not an angel;

I'm capable of not being a nice person. I'm just busy living life.

In some ways, that's all we can do is to be out there and live in

the world. "

The recent headline story about Paralympic athlete Pistorius

fighting to compete in the Beijing Olympics against able-bodied

runners is a topic of discussion in both the able-bodied and

disabled communities.

" I think the view that he's cheating by having prosthetics is

ridiculous. I haven't seen any reason why he shouldn't compete with

able-bodied runners. There's no solid proof that well engineered

prosthetics make up for not having calf muscles. If the engineering

was significant, he should be beating the stuffing out of the able-

bodied runners, but he's not, " Lawson said. " There is no significant

advantage to him over able-bodied runners. It's a lot of fear about

his disability. Honestly, it baffles me. "

Beyond her theatre performances as an actress, Lawson also appeared

in the HBO film, " Warm Springs, " starring Branagh. It was a

film about lin Delano Roosevelt and his experience as a

paraplegic.

" We had a great time with the cast and crew. Three members from Full

Radius performed in a big scene at one of the evenings of

entertainment. It was a singing and dancing role. We danced in

period chairs. They were antique and I remember having a lot of

blisters. There were nothing like ball bearings, instead there was a

great deal of rust and they weighed 60 to 90 pounds. The dance was

simple but it required a great deal of work throwing the chairs

around and turning the chairs on count. It makes one wonder what the

pressure sores used to be like decades ago. " Lawson said. " It was a

fun experience, but it does make you realize that wheelchair

technology has improved. "

Lawson is proud that part of her dance performances also offer an

educational element.

" Sometimes we do a question and answer session. The most frequent

questions I'm asked: 'Do you really need the wheelchair? Are you

really disabled?' People aren't used to seeing someone dancing in a

wheelchair, " Lawson added. " I do have hope for acceptance as it's

improved in the last ten years and who knows what the next decade

will bring. We just have to be seen living in the world. "

For more information on Laurel Lawson and Full Radius Dance visit

www.FullRadiusDance.org.