Crip Movement Lab, co-created by disabled choreographers Kayla Hamilton and Elisabeth Motley, is a movement invitation to all disabled people and their non-disabled accomplices, including and not limited to those that identify as D/disabled, blind, low vision, (eye)sight impaired, neurodivergent, Deaf/deaf, or hard of hearing, chronically ill, crip, or Mad.
In this workshop style community dance practice, we reach toward the liberatory pathways found in improvisational dance and the pride found in processes of creating movement from disability knowledge. At the outset of developing Crip Movement Lab in 2021, we noticed a gap within the disability dance community. In particular, the absence of consistent and accessible places for disabled people to gather in movement practice and to collectively experiment with devices for creating disability dance. We also noticed a prevalence of disability dance that derives its movement expressions, shape, and training from Eurocentric and Euro-American dance forms. Crip Movement Lab interrogates the aesthetic and conceptual notions these forms are rooted in, identifying them as potential disablisms for their correspondence to symmetry, balance, aesthetic ideals, and notions of beauty. This lab examines disability as a framework for creativity, prioritizes difference, and shifts the focus from ableist dance practices to accessible, inclusive, and Disability Justice-based/informed movement practices.
All varieties of dance experience are welcome. Be prepared to work with methods of dance improvisation and score-making.
Accessibility Notes
- This workshop includes auditive guidance.
- Automated closed captioning will be available for all workshops held via Zoom.
- ASL interpretation will be available for this workshop.
For access-related questions and requests, please contact accessibility@movementresearch.org, subject line “Crip Movement Lab.”
