How BODY MOVES International Inclusive Dance Festival brings accessibility in world of dance

When people feel included, they are more likely to contribute to society as there are less feelings of anxiety.

Set against the backdrop of Disability Awareness Month; the third instalment of BODY MOVES International Inclusive Dance Festival, as the name suggests, is set on not only giving a platform to deserving dancers who happen to have disabilities but on educating the general public about lives of those living with disabilities.

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Festival’s inclusivity

“We all have limitations,” CEO at the Sibikwa Arts Centre Caryn Green told The Citizen.

The Sibikwa Arts Centre is behind the festival taking place at various venues in Gauteng and the Western Cape from mid-November to early December.

“[The festival] is to show multiple dancers with disabilities. When you see these dancers perform you forget about the disability,” shared Green.

The UK’s renowned deaf dancer and choreographer, Mark Smith will have a two-week residency to create new work, titled SYNERGY 2.0, with an inclusive dance ensemble from South Africa.

The residency will culminate in performances of the newly devised work, presented alongside SYNERGY, a piece performed by a UK-SA inclusive ensemble.

“The piece [Synergy] is looking at everyday life of a person living with a disability,” shared Green. Green says the show will explore how people living with disabilities are affected by things such as load shedding and climate change.

With Elon Musk’s ambitious plans to send humans to Mars, the piece will look at how life on earth has been for communities living with disabilities and how they can make life on another planet better than it has been on earth for said community.

“It will also give that perspective about how, if we were to move to another planet, would people living with disabilities cope.”

Another highlight of the festival is Bells & Sirens 2, a dynamic reimagining of the original Bells and Sirens, commissioned by Sibikwa in 2023.

This piece, supported by the Global Disability Innovation Hub’s UK aid funded AT2030 programme, choreographed by Thapelo Kotlolo and performed by Jabu Vilakazi and Keaoleboga Seodigeng.

It examines the vibrant yet precarious world of queer club culture, and the tension between the freedom of nightlife and societal constraints on identity and expression.

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Accessibility

The shows will be staged at Sibikwa Arts Centre in Benoni, Johannesburg’s Market Theatre and Unmute ArtsAbility Festival in Cape Town.

Prices for the shows range between R50 and R100. The chosen locations and the pricing of the shows speaks to the accessibility of the festival.

“It’s about taking all the work to the people,” shared Green.

For the first time, the festival adopts a unique format which focuses on an artistic residency, a performance tour, and a series of interactive workshops and discussions.

“We are constantly trying to meet our community where they’re at. It’s the people who wouldn’t naturally engage with such work.”

The festival will also offer inclusive dance workshops for carers and youth, led by celebrated dancers, choreographers and facilitators Gladys Aghulas, Gaby Saranouffi, and Teresa Phuti Mojela, at Afrika Tikkun Centres in Gauteng and the Western Cape, and at Sibikwa Arts Centre.

Workshops with carers will explore the relationship between self-care and caregiving through movement, providing tools to create supportive environments for people of all abilities.

Youth-focused workshops will address themes of climate change and the marginalization of people with disabilities, using dance to encourage creative expression and reflection on social and environmental justice.

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