Seminar & workshop

In connection with UNESCO’s work against prejudice and discrimination, International Dance Day and the Year of Dance 2009 have been dedicated to all those who in one way or another wish to participate in dance regardless of physical or mental disability. The International Dance Council (CID) encourages choreographers, educators and organisations working with dance to include persons from all areas of society to participate in classes, workshops and performances.

Candoco Dance Company was established in 1991 by Celeste Dandeker and Adam Benjamin and the company was one of the first in the world to use dancers with disabilities in its dance works. Candoco is based in London and the company has from the very start been equally dedicated to its educational work as to its dance productions. In Great Britain they are the initators of work towards the establishment of dance education programmes for persons with disabilities at the college level.

Seminar: Candoco – dance in the contemporary age
Stine Nilsen, artistic director, presents the company’s work method and philosophy, and shares experiences from their 18-year history, expanding upon the theme of the production The Perfect Human. The seminar will discuss inclusive dance as a part of the concept of contemporary dance and explain the company’s artistic work. Further, the seminar has an objective of putting the company’s philosophy and work method into a Norwegian context.

Workshop: Inclusive dance in practice
Stine Nilsen will with two of the dancers from Candoco hold a two-day workshop following the performance and the seminar. Through contact improvisation and the principle of “listening through touch”, each participant can discover his or her individual potential. You will experience how dance can bring out abilities that you perhaps never thought possible. You will explore movement alone and in a group and develop respect and responsibility for others. The objective is to view functional disability not as a limitation but as a springboard from which to discover new approaches to dance and movement.

Target group
The seminar and workshop are designed for persons with disabilities, dance artists, physical therapists and advisors. The objective of the seminar and workshop is to explore the possibilities found in encounters between different groups of society to find new approaches to dance and movement.