theconversation.com: At the beginning of every British autumn we mark the turning season with three immutable certainties: bright chilly mornings, the start of a new academic year and the launch of Strictly Come Dancing. This year sees the 20th series, with a line-up that has sparked nationwide conversations about gender, sexuality and disability.
6 comments:
I love strictly come dancing. Although I don't watch it religiously I love eating clips from previously aired episodes, and the show comes across my social media all the time with updates on the current season. Because of this I had seen Ellie Simmonds dancing in the show before I read this article. And I absolutely loved her in the pieces I saw. The show always looks like the contestants are having so much fun and this is no different in any of the pairings that include a disabled dancer. In fact I love that strictly is including disabled celebrities and professional dancers in their competitions as a regular event rather than just as a token thing once in a while, something that I think is lacking in the American equivalent of the show. I have the same appreciation for the way Strictly is approaching same sex pairings as though they are expected and not, as they seem to be in many other cases, the exception. I can't wait to see who else they bring in to the show in the future and how the shoe continues to grow and promote things like BSL and make an impact in the disabled communities.
I've never heard of Strictly Come Dancing before, but I'm glad to have heard about it now in this article. Dance isn't a topic I'm very familiar with, but I want to get more interested in it. It's exciting to read about what Strictly Come Dancing is doing in the way of inclusion and representation. Of course, it's important to accurately represent all different types of people that exist in a community (such as those who identify as LGBTQ), and I think that this show is doing a great job of it. However, I think that this show is also breaking new ground in the sense that they make it a point to include those with physical disabilities. Again, this is important from an inclusion standpoint, but I would guess that the show is trailblazing in the field of incorporating physical differences into dance routines. All in all, I'm excited to see what the future holds for this show.
This TV show seems to be inclusive in a refreshing manner. Dance is one area of the arts that has operated under so many restrictions over the years. My mind goes right to ballet, where “ideal” body types are pushed to point of causing eating disorders, and pointe shoes only came in one skin tone. While we’ve heard of some improvements, the industry is often stuck in its ways. While this show seems more like ballroom dancing, or partner dancing in general, it’s nice to see the boundaries being pushed to include more diversity. Especially since dance can express such joy and be really healing to the mind and body. There’s a reason why people dance in times of joy and celebration, why weddings have such big dance floors, why DJs are expensive. I like that Strictly is also striving to go beyond “checking boxes” in their mission to encourage all different people to be on their show and dance.
Strictly Come sounds like America’s Dancing with the stars which it probably is. I’m happy to hear the diversification of the contestants when it comes to disabilities and sexuality. It’s always nice for everyone to be represented, however I’d say celebrating it just now is a little sad that it took this long for its show to consider making its cast diverse in those fields. I think it’s great that choreographers and the production team members like costume designers are taking on new perspectives of dance and pushing the boundaries on how it’s perceived. While I’m not that personally connected to dance I understand it’s an art form of expression, and letting kids to adults out there who sit outside societal expectations and norms see that everyone can express themselves through dance if they so choose is uplifting. I still think it’s a little sad it took this long however because these inclusions while great are disappointingly late in the game.
I hadn’t heard of this show before, but it feels very similar to the US’ Dancing with the Stars. However, Strictly Come Dancing seems to be doing a much better job in terms of inclusion and supporting the needs of people, regardless of whether it's been done before or not. I truly appreciate that the show is welcoming and supportive to varying groups of marginalized folks, not just choosing one identity to lift up and leaving others behind. I am not very well-versed in the world of dance as a whole, but it has always fascinated me, so I’ve always enjoyed watching these types of shows. Seeing any uplifting of disabled folks on a large stage is exciting, but particularly in dance, something that is so focused on the body and ability. Additionally, seeing the show break boundaries in terms of same-sex dance partners is truly exciting, as that seems like something that the dance world is very behind on. I hope to see more shows follow suit in the US.
It’s so wonderful that Strictly is pushing this diversity. I feel like when it comes to dance, especially ballroom, we have a certain expectation of what a pairing should look like. JoJo Siwa and Jenna Johnson on Dancing with the Stars was definitely groundbreaking, and it’s clearly sparked same-sex pairings on these competition shows. Thinking about it, ballroom is probably one of the styles that is most rigid in expectations. The woman and the man dance together, the man lifts the woman, etc, etc. There’s also so many styles of ballroom that require different physical elements (foxtrot v. pasodoble v. jive v. quickstep, etc.) Different than a contemporary solo, which is far more free for anyone to do. I love that Ellie Simmonds is competing, because it is a welcome challenge to these norms. And the inclusion of paralympians is also wonderful for the same reason - it effectively changes people’s minds about what constitutes a dancer.
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