Disability. Dance. Artistry. PAGE 2 ACCESSIBILITY This document has been designed with a number of features to optimize accessibility for low vision scenarios and electronic screen readers: (cid:355)(cid:1) Alt text metadata has been added to describe all charts and images (cid:355)(cid:1) Alt text has also been duplicated as actual text captions for screen readers that do not read metadata and instead read what is visually seen on the screen (Note: This will result in redundancy for those using advanced screen readers, which read both.) 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PAGE 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 4 Acknowledgments 6 Testimony 9 Introduction 12 Core Values of Equity & Inclusion 14 Foreword by Simi Linton: Cultural Territories of Disability 54 Research Context & Methodology: Nothing Without Us 57 Key Learnings About Disability, Dance, and Artistry 62 Recommendations 62 Highlights Across Stakeholders 66 Considerations for Policy Makers 72 Essays 74 Dance Makers on Disability 90 Presenting Disability, Dance, and Artistry 98 Developing Artists: Opportunities for NYC Dance Spaces 116 Creating Disabled Artists: Dance Education in the NYC Public Schools 133 Appendices PAGE 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Advisors Jody Gottfried Arnhold; Jonah Bokaer; Camille A. Brown; Diana Byer; Juan Castaño; Elissa D. Hecker, Chair Gabri Christa; Jacqueline Z. Davis; Beverly Lane Harwell, Executive Director D’Anne; Juan José Escalante; Leeanne M. Dance.NYC @DanceNYC G-Bowley; David Hallberg; Virginia Johnson; 218 East 18th Street, 4th floor Julia Kelly; Leah Krauss; Jana La Sorte; New York, NY 10003 Sara Mearns; Andrea Miller; Sydnie L. Mosley; Ariel Osterweis; Ben Rodriguez-Cubeñas; Dance Service New York City, Inc.’s (DBA Carlota Santana; John-Mario Sevilla; Dance/NYC) mission is to promote and Gus Solomons Jr.; Eduardo Vilaro; Michele encourage the knowledge, appreciation, Wilson; Lakai Worrell; Robert Yesselman, practice, and performance of dance Director Emeritus in the metropolitan New York City area. It embeds core values of equity Media Task Force and inclusion into all aspects of the Ellen Bar; Christopher Bastardi; organization. Dance/NYC works in alliance Imran Khan; Ivy Li with Dance/USA, the national service organization for professional dance. Angel Investors Mertz Gilmore Foundation; The Andrew Board of Directors W. Mellon Foundation; Stavros Niarchos Elissa D. Hecker, Chair; Christopher Foundation; Howard Gilman Foundation; Pennington, Vice Chair; Jina Paik, Booth Ferris Foundation; LuEsther T. Mertz Treasurer; Kristine A. Sova, Secretary; Advised Fund at The New York Community Edward A. Brill; Melinda D. Cloobeck; Trust; Rockefeller Brothers Fund; Bloomberg Dani Davis; Daniel Doucette; Juny E. Philanthropies; Arnhold Foundation; The Francois; Gina Gibney; Payal Kadakia; New York Community Trust; Anna-Maria Marianne Yip Love; Alissa Hsu Lynch; & Stephen Kellen Foundation Fund, Susan Gluck Pappajohn; Linda Shelton; Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors; Dalio Alice Sheppard; Lane Harwell Foundation; The Scherman Foundation; Finance Committee Soros Fund Charitable Foundation; Jerome Alireza Esmaeilzadeh Robbins Foundation; Fan Fox & Leslie General Counsel R. Samuels Foundation; The Shubert Cory Greenberg Foundation; Lambent Foundation Fund of Tides Foundation; Consolidated Edison; Junior Committee 2wice Arts Foundation; Valentino D. Carlotti; Amanda Hameline, Co-Chair; Eli Tamondong, Stuart H. Coleman and Meryl Rosofsky; Co-Chair; Donald Borror, Secretary; Lizzie and Jonathan M. Tisch Nehemoyia Young, Assets Manager PAGE 5 This study was made possible with Organizational Partners leadership support from The Andrew W. Art Beyond Sight; Inclusion in the Arts Mellon Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Prepared by Anne Coates, Research Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York Consultant, in collaboration with Task Force State Legislature. It is a part of Dance/NYC’s Coordinated by Michele Kumi Baer, Disability. Dance. Artistry. initiative, which Dance/NYC Equity & Inclusion Coordinator was launched with seed funding from the Design: James H. Monroe, monroeand.co Stavros Niarchos Foundation. Photography: Jeffrey Lee, On the Spot Image Dance/NYC research is supported, in part, Dance/NYC thanks all of the contributing by the City of New York, Bill de Blasio, essayists and the many people, nonprofit Mayor, and the New York City Council, organizations, and public agencies Melissa Mark-Viverito, Speaker, through that helped guide this project. Special the Department of Cultural Affairs, Tom thanks to New York City Mayor’s Office Finkelpearl, Commissioner. The study for People with Disabilities, Victor Calise, builds on a Dance/NYC convening, which Commissioner, Kleo King, Robert Piccolo, was additionally supported by the National Asma Quddus; Department of Cultural Endowment for the Arts and presented Affairs, Tom Finkelpearl, Commissioner, as part of ADA25NYC, in partnership Edwin Torres, Tracey Knuckles, Shirley with the Mayor’s Office for People with Levy, Ryan Max, Diya Vij; Department of Disabilities, Victor Calise, Commissioner, Education, Paul King, Suzanne Elgendy, City University of New York, and John Jay Ph.D., Mary Mattis, Ph.D.; as well as to College of Criminal Justice. the City University of New York and John Jay College, Christopher Rosa, Howard Disability Task Force Hines, Mindy Bockstein, which hosted the Elisabeth Axel, Art Beyond Sight; convening that is a foundation for this Christine Bruno, Inclusion in the Arts; study. Thanks also to the New York State Diane Duggan, Dance Therapist, Dance Council on the Arts, Lisa Robb, Executive Educator; Sharon Jensen, Inclusion in the Director, Robert Zuckerman, Deborah Lim, Arts; Heidi Latsky, Heidi Latsky Dance; Liz McAleer; New Jersey Council on the Simi Linton, Disability/Arts Consultancy; Arts, Donald Ehman; National Endowment Kitty Lunn, Infinity Dance Theater; Zazel- for the Arts, Beth Bienvenu, Sunil Iyengar, Chavah O’Garra, Performing Artist, Neil Chidester; AXIS Dance Company, Model, Motivational Speaker, Social Judith Smith; Geraldine R. Dodge Worker; Alice Sheppard, Dance Artist and Foundation, Wendy Liscow; Fractured Atlas, Choreographer; Nicholas Viselli, Theater Lisa Niedermeyer, Alessandra Pearson; Breaking Through Barriers; Alexandria New Jersey Theatre Alliance, John McEwan; Wailes, Actor, Dancer, Teaching Artist Michelle Mantione; and Beth Prevor. PAGE 6 TESTIMONY “Timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Dance/NYC brought together an impressive convening of both people with and without disabilities to focus on dance and disability. Dancers, choreographers, disability advocates, government officials, educators, and funders gathered—all interested in the advancement of dance to those who are often left out of the equation because of preconceived notions that people with disabilities don’t dance. They do. Dance/NYC has demonstrated the vision to bring equity to dance through both its research and capacity to instigate important dialogue. I am happy that the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities can play a role as a collaborator in this important work and we applaud Dance/NYC for its leadership.” Victor Calise, Commissioner, New York City Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities PAGE 7 TESTIMONY “Once again, Dance/NYC has put forth thoughtful, forward-thinking research that frames inclusivity as an urgent matter with concrete steps we can take to make sure that all New Yorkers have the opportunity to access and engage with our vital dance community. As the Department of Cultural Affairs embarks on our own diversity initiative and the development of the City’s first comprehensive cultural plan, we are honored to have Lane Harwell and Simi Linton as members of the Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission, where they will bring the deep insight and sensitivity captured in Disability. Dance. Artistry. to help guide these important activities and ensure that all of our work integrates the needs of people with disabilities.” Edwin Torres, Acting Commissioner, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs PAGE 8 TESTIMONY “The Department of Education is committed to ensuring that every child receives a rigorous arts education, and we have acted to support and expand access to dance and other arts education for students with disabilities. The Disability. Dance. Artistry. report is a call to action for a future where artists with disabilities flourish, and we will continue to work collaboratively with schools, parents and families, community-based organizations, and across City agencies towards this goal.” Paul L. King, Executive Director, Office of Arts and Special Projects, New York City Department of Education PAGE 9 INTRODUCTION More than a report on the status quo, Disability. Dance. Artistry. is a game changer in a growing movement toward a cultural ecosystem that expressly and equitably includes the disability community. It puts disability front and center as a positive artistic and generative force and advocates dance making by and with disabled artists. The study extends generations of work by artists, activists, and academics, and responds directly to Dance/NYC’s quantitative research, Discovering Disability (2015), and to a seminal conference it presented as part of ADA25NYC, the City’s celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The qualitative findings and recommendations are grounded in dialogue surrounding the conference, and draw from a wide range of both disabled and nondisabled stakeholders. The learning offered is an accelerator. By showing how dance made by and with disabled artists grows the art form’s creative and progressive potentials, and how it delivers innovation, excellence, and impact, these pages make the case for removing systemic barriers and for working with disabled artists from the classroom to the stage. Because the study pulls in so many voices and ideas, it offers meaningful individual entry points for every reader, while exhorting collaboration as a way to effect change. PAGE 10 New York City government is particularly well positioned for leadership. The study offers a dozen preliminary considerations for how to address disability through a comprehensive cultural planning process that was recently mandated by City Council, as well as reflections on how to enhance arts instruction for disabled students in the public schools—strengthening the pipeline for professional artists. Dance/NYC’s recommendations for the cultural planning process are both practical and bold, from employing a disability expert and mining interagency opportunities to laying the groundwork for a global center for disability arts, which would significantly evolve New York’s role as a cultural capital. Without explicitly addressing usability and the meaningful participation of disabled people through the planning process and implementation, the City cannot realize an equitable cultural policy. There is work everyone can do to advance art making by and with disabled artists. As examples, for grant makers, the study underscores how investing in disabled artists would have an exponential benefit for the future of the creative sector and society at large. For dance educators, the study points out opportunities for growing inclusive classrooms and expanding career readiness for disabled students. For companies, facilities, and presenters, it is a call to action for increased programming with disabled artists and a tool to improve communications, physical, and programmatic access. For my colleague service organization leaders, it offers that by developing a network focused on disability matters and partnering with government, we can play a critical role in achieving scale. For Dance/NYC, the study continues a multi-year organizational effort to increase inclusion and access to the art form for the disability community that includes research, accessible online information resources, and convening. It has also changed and challenged all of us at Dance/NYC to live more fully in our organizational values of equity and inclusion. I invite you to visit Dance.NYC for evolving news and resources.