Multi-abilities performance is gaining momentum worldwide

MoMo Mixed Ability Dance Company is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a show called Body Language on June 7 and 8. The ensemble isn’t what you might expect of dancers as MoMo embraces performers of all abilities including for example people who are blind or require crutches or wheelchairs to get around.

Body Language will also mark the retirement of founder and artistic director Pamela Boyd. She was originally inspired by a disability arts festival she attended in 2002 where she encountered mixed-ability companies that even then were 20 years old. “I was just blown away and I thought ‘My goodness why isn’t this happening in Alberta?’” And so MoMo was born.

Fast forward to today where multi-ability work is gaining recognition worldwide including a recent touring show presented at Theatre Junction Grand ( Ganesh Versus the Third Reich ). Boyd explains that multi-ability arts are “part of a global human rights movement in the disability community working for accessibility for disabled people — not just physical accessibility but in every way including an overall change in attitudes towards disabled people in society.”

“Disability or ‘inclusive’ arts are a huge part of that movement the arts being so often the voice and forerunner of change in society” she adds.

Key word? Arts. “This is not social work this is an artist-run company and we are creating art.”

For Body Language MoMo’s 12 performers worked with professional choreographers including Kyrsten Blair Naomi Brand Val Campbell and Boyd herself to create each segment of the show. Set to music ranging from electronic to classical to jazz Body Language includes one piece set to the poetry of Mary Oliver; one that’s an elaboration of movements crafted by each dancer; one light romantic piece that features a trio of performers ; and a finale showcasing the full ensemble in a scored improvisation based on riffs that came from the artists themselves. (There is also a performance by Edmonton-based CRIPSiE another multi-ability company.)

Choreographing a show for MoMo’s ensemble is more about embracing the particular abilities on the stage rather than disguising them. This could mean for instance that elements such as crutches become an integral part of the choreography. The resulting performance is eclectic and “quirky” according to Boyd who hopes “that people are open to… the quirkiness and playfulness of what we do.”

She admits that this type of work can be challenging to audience members who aren’t familiar with it because it presents a redefinition of beauty and aesthetics. “We’re asking the audience to reassess in a sense what they think is performable in the context of community and professional dance and dance theatre” says Boyd. “What it also asks the audience is to expand their idea of diversity to include people that don’t represent the perfection of say ballet. And that in turn encourages people to look at people with disabilities as just another extension of the diverse population that we live among.”

MoMo is about performance but it is also about relationships and Boyd is particularly proud of having helped foster a mixed-ability arts community in the city over the past 10 years. Going forward Boyd is handing MoMo’s reins over to Mark Ikeda. “I’m really happy to be passing on such a vibrant committed little company to our assistant director to take the next decade of development” says Boyd. “The work that we do and all disability mixed-ability companies do is to enrich Canadian culture as a whole.”

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