WomenArts: A dancer glides across the floor in a long arc, arms outstretched, ending in a hypnotic spin. The audience breathes with her, delighting in her skill, grace, strength, and the remarkable invention that has given her so much freedom of movement. She dances in a wheelchair – a wheelchair whose wheels are hidden, that moves in all directions, and can pirouette.
14 comments:
This sounds like a wonderful invention. The disabled community is not one that is often associated with dance, but this chair proves that anyone can dance. I also think it’s neat how Morris also focuses on the pedestrian aspect for the chair. Allowing people in wheelchairs to physically hold hands or have conversation with the person next to them while walking, seems mundane, but I’m sure is extremely exciting to users of wheelchairs. Yet, this seems to be very expensive technology and therefore most likely inaccessible for most people who would need it. Nevertheless, I’m sure that Morris and her work is inspiring people in wheelchairs to become dancers, even though they might not be able to get one of her chairs. Hopefully open people’s eyes towards dancers in wheelchairs, especially if they can not get a chair. I’m sure that this chair is a long way from its potential, and I hope that it achieves all that it can, however in the meantime, I hope that this opens people’s eyes to dancers in chairs.
This is amazing. This gives me hope for a truly diverse performing arts community. Even at gatherings like the Ghostlight Project which happened recently, when speakers are listing all the marginalized communities we must welcome, somehow the disabled community always gets forgotten. I’m currently doing a research project on disabled performers in theatre and it is honestly disheartening how comparatively little material there is on the topic. As Morris says this is not just about creating a wheelchair that moves more smoothly or fluidly, although it is beautiful to watch, this is about allowing any person a greater range for freedom of expression in the way they perform. Already in the week or so I’ve been working on this research project I’ve discovered performers and productions that are fascinating and wonderful. But I had to do some serious digging to find them. Yet I feel really strongly about not giving up on this project because it's proving difficult because that would mirror in a small way what I think is a major barrier for disabled performers in our profession: it actually requires some effort. Opening up your theater to other minorities doesn’t really take that much work on a practical level. Just don’t do plays with only white characters and hire staff who aren’t all cis/het. But working with disabled performers mean you might have actually to do something, like learn some ASL or install a wheelchair ramp. And some theatres view that as completely impossible. But does that mean that we can’t even start the conversation? Because at my school, a rich successful leader in theatre, at a gathering to pledge our dedication to the inclusion of all, the disabled community, the largest minority in America, wasn’t even mentioned.
A wheelchair that is controlled by the movements of your body and being able to manipulate those movements with traditional dancing techniques is very cool. I would be curious to see exactly how the technology works and what kind of mechanisms is uses to interpret the movements. The technology reminds me of the Segway and auto balancing technology, but the cool thing about the device is the ability to move in any direction. The Mecanum wheels are something that my robotics team used and the maneuverability they have is incomparable. The one downside about them is the noises that they give off and I wonder how that effects the performance. Having a large machine like this I can only imagine the noise it lets off. I can’t help but think about the other uses this device has aside from dancing. Don’t get me wrong the fact that people are making technology to get disabled people on the dance floor is amazing but if they could expand their client base they might be able to lower the price of units.
I have heard of dance companies that teach to disabled body people, but the wheelchair they designed is really cool. 2 people in my family are in wheelchairs, all with different amounts of motor movement, and while none of them ever had their hearts set on dancing, they have always pushed that they do not let their body control what they can and can't do. This is an incredible opportunity for so many people. I really hope that this gets attention and is spread beyond Merry Lynn Morris's company, so that people everywhere who have to live in a chair can have this opportunity if they want it. I think we often get caught up in the world of art and performance that diversity is about ethnicity and gender identity, but this adds something so incredible that art and dance is truly for everyone, no matter what limitations your body has. I hope that Morris creates some kind of video or documentary with the technology, because I would love to see it in action, and see it integrated into the dance world. Whether it is an all wheelchair performance or a mix, it could really be an incredible performance.
This is a major advancement for the disabled community. I think that people with limited movement or mobility just kind of get tossed to the side when it comes to dance because dance is mainly, if not completely movement based. This article is exciting to me both as an artist and as a person with strong ties to the disabled community. While the technology seems expensive and perhaps fairly inaccessible to those who can't afford it, I'm excited to see these machines become more popular as a tool to improve both art and daily life for those in wheelchairs. This article was also particularly inspiring because it's a reminder that there's always something you can do to better the life of someone else. An advanced wheelchair such as this one is something I can't say I would ever think of, but it's a reminder that there's always something that I can do to help someone else.
This entire article is so beautiful to me. I grew up with ballet and it was always something that I loved very much. Today, I still appreciate dance, but where the true beauty lies is with Merry Lyn sharing this art with those with a disability. It is heartwarming that she is providing those who are disabled to participate in the sport and express themselves through movement and flow with music. I think it is really impressive that it is smartphone enabled, a brilliant way to utilize today's technology. The programing of the chair itself is fantastic. They still have the ability to dance. Merry Lyn is a beautiful soul. It is amazing to me just how aware she is. This article opened up a new window of thinking, encouraged by allowing all to connect emotionally and accept those who may not look, or function the same way we all do. Art is for all, no matter how our outer body is assembled.
This article is absolutely beautiful. Having worked with students with disabilities, the ability to gracefully dance in a wheel chair is an amazing invention. I have seen many videos in which wheel chair dancing has been incorporated and while it is fun to watch, I have never seen a video in which the dancing did not look choppy. These videos were made by people who could walk but were just experimenting, so afterwards they had the ability to stand up and dance on two feet. But those who cannot use their legs have always had this disadvantage now. I cannot imagine the frustration of someone who simply wants to dance gracefully but will never be able to. This will give so many people the opportunity to get closer to dancing. Dancing is a beautiful form of art to watch, and the wheel chair made for dance made it so much more beautiful. It combines the beauty of dance with the determination to over come challenges which is incredibly inspiring. This is one of the best inventions I have seen in a while.
This is a very important project on so many levels. Most notably, I think the idea of redesigning the wheelchair has a lot of value. Sure, slapping two wheels on the side of a chair will allow a person to get from point a to point b (on a level enough surface with a wide enough path) but there is no reason to make a wheelchair more limiting than it has to be. When I first clicked on this article, I was thinking it was cool just because it redesigned a wheelchair to make it a more effective tool for expression through dance. That alone is important. But, when watching the video, I realized there is the added benefit that comes from the principles that make the chair effective for dance also making it helpful for day to day life. I’d love to hear the perspective of wheelchair users both on how effective this chair is for dance and also if they find it to be better than a traditional wheelchair for day to day life. Regardless of whether or not this wheelchair is effective for most people or most situations, I think the idea of wheelchairs not being just one thing, but instead being able to take a variety of forms depending on what they need to do, is a very important concept.
I think this article is majorly important on so many levels, not only because of its inclination towards expanding opportunities in theater for people with disabilities, but because of the implications of such a device in the everyday life of those people who are forced to live with a disability. Over the past year or so i have been working extensively with a group called NCEFT (the National Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy) which aims to bridge the gap between therapy and engagement in a world outside of the disability of the patient. When anyone with a disability is confined to a wheelchair or is unable to connect with people, it can be difficult for them to engage in activities that people without disabilities take for granted, such as horseback riding or dancing for that matter. And whenever people make a concerted effort to bridge that gap, and make the effort to help, that in itself is important. With this wheelchair, people with disabilities will not only be able to dance, or engage in such a physical art form, it will allow them to more easily connect to others in their life. And ultimately i think if more people would think like Merry Lynn Morris, our world would me much better for it.
Accessibility and representation are some of the most important parts of creating social equality. When people see that they are being represented or even have the possibility of it it is more likely that they will try and succeed or even think that they can. This article reminded me of one I read about women can representation and possibility leading to confidence and a deeper level of social change. This article is great because it talks about the deeper issues that lie within people with disabilities. Art has a great way at touching people deep in their core, and that is something we all have fully able or not. My cousin who is severely disabled has been helped immensely by exposure to the arts. As technology progressed and we work to build a more inclusive world it is important that we continue to keep everyone in that vision disability or not. Art is a privilege and one that a lot of people in the world don't get to experience, so I think that is great to start to bring the thing that we love so much to people who wouldn't otherwise be able to be around it.
Yes this is wonderful. Yes it is incredible that the wheelchair is finally receiving the development and advancement it deserves. And yes - this is a fantastic aid that will likely encourage people who use wheelchairs to pursue dance and lower some of the barriers in the entertainment industry. Except for the fact that there will continue to be a gigantic cost barrier. A standard, non-motorized wheelchair costs around two hundred dollars. A bad motorized chair costs over two thousand. A "sports" chair is around ten thousand. People who use wheelchairs already struggle to get the basics from insurance companies. I cannot imagine this chair being less than several thousand dollars or an insurance company willingly fronting the bill or covering it. Especially now that the Affordable Care Act is going out the window, it is hard to imagine wheelchair users, and people with disabilities as a whole, being covered by insurance. One of my friends from home is Deaf and uses hearing aids and even under the ACA her insurance will only cover one new hearing aid every two years. It is wonderful that new technology is being developed to further open the world of dance to people who use wheelchairs, just please remember that we live in a world where greed rules over all and necessary services can cost a lot. This invention will most likely only be available to those who can afford it on their own.
Breathtaking. Everything about this article was beautiful. I watched the short video of the Merry Lynn Morris talking about the invention and it sold me even more. First off, her dedication to helping disabled persons find their way into the arts it's more than commendable. It's a difficult job trying to give hope to a person with a disability that they can participate in any form of performing arts, but nothing should ever bar person from free artstic expression. It's something we are all capable of so long as we are breathing. This is something that upsets me about the professional dance world. Dancers must look a certain way and have a certain body type to be considered talented, which makes little sense to me. There are girls who are literally killing themselves over this. Thankfully, though not quickly enough, the dance community is attempting to take steps to correct this.
Going back to the Merry Lynn's chair, from a technology standpoint I'm just as impressed with this invention. The chair looks and moves beautifully and gracefully in a way that's poetic in itself. I would love to see a performance by dancers on these chairs expressing themselves in a way that most would think was never possible.
I think that this invention could not only allow people with disabilities to dance in a way they had never been able to before but could also lead to a new genre of dance to emerge as the integration with those in wheelchairs and those without interact and move in different ways. There are a lot of new messages which could be brought into dance and that could be explored in interesting ways. I would be interested to see — as this genre grows — how the costume design works for these productions with mixed. Are the costumes all identical? Do you do two sets of costumes for the two sets of dancers? If you do, what does that add or subtract from your narrative of the dance? I will also be interested to see how this is brought into the world of theatre if it catches on in the world of dance.
Lately the arts have taken some important steps to making performance accessible to everyone. Recently Ali Stroker became the first actress that uses a wheelchair for mobility to perform on a Broadway stage in Deaf West's revival of Spring Awakening. The invention of this wheelchair shows a commitment to including dancers with disabilities, and allows them to use their arms to dance opposed to worrying about controlling the chair. This will give them the opportunity to be much more expressive in their art. I think that this invention has the potential to expand well outside the world of dance once the cost of the chair goes down. The increased range of motion is amazing, and could really help people with disabilities to have much more freedom. This wheelchair definitely has a ways to go before its marketable to the general population, but it's still an amazing step in the right direction.
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