Pointe: When you see Olivia Book dance, you first notice her long lines, incredible control and captivating stage presence. It's obvious why the Canadian dancer received high marks at Toronto's Youth American Grand Prix competition last year—the girl has talent! It isn't until a second or third glance that you realize that one of the 16-year-old's arms is a little different than most. Born with congenital upper extremity limb deficiency, Book's right arm ends just above her elbow and is significantly smaller than her left one. "My right arm, or 'little arm,' has forced me to rely on my left arm for all of my daily life activities," says Book.
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Minority representation is key towards progress. The entertainment industry as a whole is known for being partially very inclusive of minority groups, however, there is a significant amount of judgement and ignorance present. Through representation and a larger presence of people with disabilities, the entire community can learn how to be more accepting and grow as people. One of my coworkers has a best friend with a similar arm disability that she doesn’t stop her from doing much. Reading Olivia’s statement on being more self-conscious regarding her arm as she grew older, it makes me sad. It is one thing for a young child to be scared of others’ opinions, but I would think that as you get older you become more numb in a sense to the stares and questions. I can also see how a young woman feels critiqued for all that she does, especially in a performance based career where people literally watch and judge her for her living.
I’m so proud of her for not giving up and being ashamed that she is different from others. Just because she has a disability does not mean that she is less elegant, controlled, and powerful than other ballerinas. I find it amazing that she turned her took advantage of her disability by being hyper-aware of her weight distribution and placement. That is definitely an important and difficult element to master in ballet, and she is able to do it perfectly. Thinking of the ballet industry and community, I don’t feel like I see minorities being represented. I haven’t seen a ballet performance featuring a dancer with disabilities. I agree with her that she would definitely be a role model to those who are similar to her and want to dance. Seeing her on a big stage would be immensely inspiring and empowering. On another note, I admire her strength mentally, having to build the dancer’s confidence while also dealing with people’s judgments.
It's always incredibly inspiring to read about performers, athletes, or any one with a physical disability who does not let that disability get in the way of what they want to achieve. Just thinking about all of the extra work and practice that these people must have to put in simply shows how much they must want their dreams. I'm sure Olivia Book had faced a lot of judgement as a dancer and athlete with a fairly obvious physical disability. As a young girl dealing with the struggles of trying to fit in, that must have been very hard for her to overcome especially in an industry where looks can be very important. I'm so glad she was able to get through all of it and become such of an amazing dancer. It was also very interesting to read about how Olivia Book's disability ended up helping her ballet techniques in the sense of weight distribution and hyper awareness of her body. This proves that disabilities don't always hinder your abilities. Sometimes it just means you have go a different path to achieve a greater result.
It is so amazing to see people overcoming obstacles. It's so easy to say "I can't because..." People have dreams and goals that they want to accomplish, but when they don't, they have so many excuses as to why they couldn't. Instead of admitting that they may not have been motivated or it wasn't something that they wanted badly enough, they come up with a list of reasons as to why they couldn't. Granted, I understand that some life circumstances tend to be bigger than others and at times life prevents us from accomplishing goals. However, often it really is just us. Even me, sometimes I can get in my head and tell myself that I am not good enough at something so I won't even try it. I come up with a list of excuses backing up my theory before I just do it. Olivia Book is so inspiring, and I hope that this inspires others to chase their dreams even when the odds aren't in our favors.
I really enjoyed the chance to read about Olivia and her story of coming to West Ballet and I think it is a great example of talking about accessibility in different industries. Despite a largely progressive view across the board and what I like to believe is best intentions I think that one of the areas theatres particularly struggle in is accessibility for those with physical disabilities. It feels as if there is unqualified need for everyone to be able to preform whatever task is needed and the bias is even built into the theatre buildings themselves. Older theatres are frequently not ADA accessible and though there might be “work arounds” that in itself is already creating an unwelcoming environment. I do believe that there is so much room in the industry for anyone who has interest in it but with the current state of things I also can’t blame people who choose not to involve themselves in it despite their affinity for it.
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