The dance world has often based its plaudits on how spectacularly performers can defy gravity with leaps, kicks and twirls. But a handful of wheelchairs, some roller skates and a trapeze helped a Berkeley-based troupe flip antiquated and ableist conceptions of athletic ability and athleticism on their head.<\/p>\n
By pairing disabled dancers with able-bodied performers, AXIS Dance Company began shifting attention away from impossible feats to the art of what\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n
The group\u2019s unique exploration of dance \u2013 pioneering different ways to translate internal thoughts, feelings and ideas into physical motion \u2013 started as a therapeutic way to regain bodily autonomy. AXIS\u2019 work bending the rules of contemporary choreography coincided with the national disability rights that began brewing on UC Berkeley\u2019s campus and quickly garnered international acclaim.<\/p>\n
But as the idea of accessibility continues to evolve, the same is true for the nonprofit\u2019s mission, according to Executive Director Danae Rees.<\/p>\n
Notably, AXIS no longer sees itself as a \u201cphysically integrated\u201d dance company \u2013 a term the ensemble picked up decades ago when they helped introduce audiences and critics to the idea that disabled dancers could not only keep up, but also elevate on-stage dynamics with able-bodied peers.<\/p>\n
Rees said the modern iteration of AXIS now taps the talents of disabled, non-disabled, d\/Deaf and neurodiverse dancers \u2013 creating a diverse, radically inclusive spectrum of life experience that showcases the beauty found in difference.<\/p>\n
But many of the concerns that motivated the group\u2019s formation still abound, centered around structural inequities in health care, employment and education. That\u2019s why engagement is key to uphold AXIS\u2019 legacy of artistry and advocacy, she said, pointing to the company\u2019s performance calendar, which they\u2019ve bolstered with educational resources, such as the Choreo-Lab Fellowship, and opportunities for mentorship through myriad training workshops.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe definition of disability has broadened over time, so we made a shift,\u201d Rees said in December. \u201cBeing able to just create, without any expectation of having a final product, is often not an option provided to disabled artists. It\u2019s something that feels really important to continue and nurture.\u201d<\/p>\n
AXIS didn\u2019t develop deep roots in the East Bay by happenstance. Judith Smith, one of the company\u2019s founders, had moved here during the 1980s after she was severely injured in a car accident. She was drawn by the burgeoning independent living community, led by trailblazers like Ed Roberts and Judy Heumann, who years prior had started pushing for more rights and resources.<\/p>\n
Smith\u2019s extensive rehab involving a string of self-defense, zen and other disability workshops, however, morphed into classes studying improvisational wheelchair movement. By 1987, she joined forces with Bonnie Lewkowicz and Thais Mazur to found the \u201cDis-slash-Abled, with a capital A, Dance Troupe,\u201d Smith told UC Berkeley historians. The group settled on the name \u201cAXIS\u201d and became a nonprofit three years later, which opened up grant funding opportunities for the dancers to continue puzzling crowds with their novel moves.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur dance vocabulary is because of the equipment, not in spite of it,\u201d Smith told this news organization in 2005, explaining how navigating accessibility is no different than learning steps with a new dance partner. \u201cWe have the potential to create movement other dancers can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to showcasing the innovative, expansive range of wheelchairs, prosthetic limbs and canes, Smith credited their success to audiences, who flocked to stages where they could see themselves reflected on stage.<\/p>\n
Yet a chronic lack of accessibility continues to shut the disabled community out of arts venues in the Bay Area and across the nationwide, Rees said. That\u2019s why she and Nadia Adame, the company\u2019s artistic director, compiled the \u201cAccess Guide to Presenting and Touring the Performing Arts\u201d in 2024, which offers free, online resources for a range of different needs, including \u201crelaxed performances\u201d that reduce loud noises and strobe lighting. There\u2019s also explainers on improvements to protect immunocompromised folks, as well as checklists to evaluate lobbies, restrooms and greenrooms for physical barriers that linger long after the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s not one way of thinking about this \u2014 we can\u2019t prescribe exactly how to do it because every venue is different,\u201d Rees said, explaining different roadblocks that vary depending on a venue\u2019s size, location and budget. \u201cWe\u2019ve tried to provide more guiding principles that are tangible and resources to help support that work so it becomes part of (a business\u2019 everyday) practice.\u201d<\/p>\n
The project took several years to develop, spurred by consistent complaints and suggestions from dozens of experts, but it\u2019s become especially timely. The Trump administration officials have already rolled back new and old guidance for public businesses like hotels and retail shops on how to comply with the ADA \u2013 the latest policy shift that disability advocates say undermines the watershed access law.<\/p>\n
Nadia Adame took over as AXIS\u2019 artistic director in 2022, which was a sort of homecoming after she\u2019d danced within the ensemble nearly two decades prior. Before wrapping an independent, disability-centric partnership that reimagined \u201cA Christmas Carol\u201d at Center REP in Walnut Creek during AXIS\u2019 recent holiday break, Adame spearheaded a May collaboration of \u201cKinematic\/Kinesthetic,\u201d which studied the convergence of technology and anatomy, experimenting with dances featuring telescoping crutches and robotic hexapod legs developed by engineering students.<\/p>\n
Rees said AXIS will continue to push boundaries and expand access \u2013 on and off the dance floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout enough accessibility, artists like us can\u2019t even be on the stage, which also means audiences can\u2019t come and participate and have that cultural experience,\u201d Rees said, explaining how changes impact the entire arts community, regardless of ability. \u201cIf we center accessibility for everybody, then everybody feels welcome into those spaces.\u201dThat reality hit close to home during the pandemic, she said, when mounting accessibility issues forced AXIS to pivot out of its longtime Oakland studio.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we felt like it was time to go back to Berkeley,\u201d Rees said. \u201cIt feels very important \u2013 continuing to do the work that we\u2019re doing \u2013 being in a place where that movement started.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The dance world has often based its plaudits on how spectacularly performers can defy gravity with leaps, kicks…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":198175,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[967,181,23,100,143,145,144,420],"class_list":{"0":"post-198359","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-oakland","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-latest-headlines","10":"tag-local-news","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-oakland","13":"tag-oakland-headlines","14":"tag-oakland-news","15":"tag-things-to-do"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198359\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}