After becoming disabled I got the opportunity to be a part of two physically integrated dance companies before finding my way to AXIS. What this looks like to me is providing levels of education for different dance abilities that can be scaffolded and built upon, allowing artists with different body types and abilities to build foundation and training that leads them to a professional-level company. After that, offers to perform and create kept coming. He looks intently at the viewer from deep-set eyes. Axis Dance Co. | 202 South Second Avenue, Durant, Oklahoma 74701 | info@axisdanceco.com | 580.920.9910 [4][5] The physically integrated dance movement is part of a broader disability culture movement, which recognizes and celebrates the first-person experience of disability, not as a medical-model construct but as a social phenomenon, through artistic, literary, and other creative means. Coming to work with AXIS just confirms my belief that no matter how your body is, you can be creative and fulfill any role in the artistic world. This started a trend, which eventually became known as physically integrated dance, which seeks to broaden the definition of ‘dance’ and ‘dancer’ and increase opportunities for artistic expression through movement for a wide spectrum of physical attributes and disabilities. AXIS Dance Company has become one of the world’s most acclaimed and innovative ensembles of performers with and without disabilities. She has an MFA in Fine Art from the California College of Art and a BFA in Theater and Film from the University of Colorado. That has shaped my ability and knowledge over time and allowed me to grow as a dancer. AXIS has performed in more than sixty cities, Europe, and Siberia. In some ways, due to the challenges that everyone is/was facing, dance became even more important for expression and connecting with the community. Teachers, studio owners, dancers and parents shared what they want in a dance competition, and AXIS is here to deliver! AXIS Dance Company celebrated 30 years this weekend with their home season, “Onward and Upward,” at the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts in Oakland. Working with AXIS has allowed me to see more of what the disability community can bring to the table and has to offer, but mostly just expanding my outlook and allowing me to see dance and other forms of art from a different perspective. While Dancing Wheels, based in Cleveland, OH, was the first repertory dance company to train and present dancers with and without disabilities (Austin, 2011), AXIS has built an exceptional repertory by commissioning established, well-known contemporary choreographers to create works for the company (e.g. My journey [toward dance] began before I can remember. After that, offers to perform and create kept coming. [2][3] AXIS dancers with disabilities have included wheelchair users (both manual wheelchairs and power wheelchairs), crutch users, and people with amputations using prosthetic limbs. It wasn't until [I was] 13 that I had the privilege to dance in a studio; I traveled more than one hour by train to get to the studio in Yokohama [,Japan]. This company by its nature of being physically integrated challenges stereotypes of what a dancer looks like and who can dance. I first joined AXIS in 2005. Our first director, Thais Mazur, was a dancer who was bored with what she was doing and seeing in dance. AXIS will perform the headline work Radical Impact created by internationally renowned AXIS Artistic Director and Choreographer Marc Brew, in collaboration with JooWan Kim Artistic Director o AXIS Dance Company, Dancers’ Group and Yerba Buena Gardens Festival presented Occupy – A site-specific journey through an urban garden, July 1-2, 2017. As noted in its vision statement, the long-time National Endowment for the Arts grantee aims to “create a radically inclusive dance sector and world by removing barriers and showcasing the beauty of difference.” As we learned by speaking to four members of the ensemble, the company’s dedication to broadening the perception of what dance looks like is not just about what the audience sees on stage. AXIS has created a wonderful place for people to enjoy dance together; it has changed the way I see dance, and believe it has a lot to offer by engaging the community. AXIS Dance Company’s Divide by Marc Brew (2014). Founded in 1987, AXIS is the nation's most acclaimed ensembles of disabled and non-disabled performers. AXIS Dance Company is a professional physically integrated contemporary dance company and dance education organization founded in 1987 and based in Oakland, California. Rehearsal Director Sonsherée Giles and company dancer DeMarco Sleeper will hold a virtual master class hosted by the Harvard Dance … When we started AXIS we didn’t know people setting choreography, but we knew contact improv was happening between people with and without disabilities. Being a person with a disability [it’s empowering] being in a space where everyone is working together [despite] their differences physically and culturally. Occupy is a site-specific journey inspired by the history, design and architecture of Yerba Buena Gardens and the unique movement capabilities of AXIS Dance Company and its broader community of performers. I think we strive to create a “radically inclusive dance sector" through our education opportunities for people with and without disabilities, our performances that are accessible and provide access to this form of dance, and our advocacy for people with disabilities. Hancher celebrates physically integrated dance with AXIS Dance Company | Iowa Now Just Published! Where I used to think of it as a limit to what was possible, it's now a unique interpretation that adds to the beauty of the art. Add a bio, recollection, and more. I have tried to stop but it keeps coming back. AXIS Dance Company. ... Our studio was built from the ground up through hard work and dedication, and it’s a place with a lot of history. AXIS has been a home that is impossible to find in any organization that is not physically integrated. Located in Oakland, California, AXIS has been accomplishing this for over 30 years through three pillars of activity: Artistry, Engagement & Advocacy. While browsing the internet I came across this article about the premiere of Bill t. Jones work for AXIS Dance Company: “Fantasie in C”. AXIS Dance Company Artistic Director Marc Brew is photographed against a white background. First female choreographer to be given this honor ... Yellow Labs Software Inc. History. We want to create safe spaces for people to be creative and feel empowered… In AXIS I have the experience to share dance with so many different bodies and people that keep expanding my mind and my notion of what dance can be. AXIS’ education programs, Dance Access and Dance Access/KIDS! Bill T. Jones, Sonya Delwaide, Joe Goode, Alex Ketley, Shinichi Iova-Koga, Joanna … At the same time, my dream of living in America fused with my love for dance, and I decided to develop my life and career here. He looks intently at the viewer from deep-set eyes. Roots Above Ground, a 45 minute physically integrated dance program making its world premiere at AXIS’ Home Season, will explore the multiple meanings of home. Founded in 1987, AXIS Dance Company is an Oakland, California-based physically integrated dance company whose ensemble comprises disabled and non-disabled performers. Complexions Contemporary Ballet is a contemporary ballet company founded in 1994 by Co-Artistic Directors Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson based in New York City comprising about 14 classical and contemporary dancers. ABC-CLIO Companion to the Disability Rights Movement, p. 97, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "A Dance Company Mixes Arms, Legs and Wheels", "Review: Axis Dance Company at Malonga Casquelord", "Rebel filmmaker's movie about Burning Man screens in Oakland", Artists with Disabilities Oral History Page, "Activating National and Local Connections to Further Physically Integrated Dance", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=AXIS_Dance_Company&oldid=953972089, Articles with a promotional tone from November 2016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Sustained Achievement in 2014 to Judith Smith, Founding Member and Artistic Director Emerita, Outstanding Achievement in Performance - Individual in 2012 to Marc Brew for, Ensemble Performance in 2002 to Nadia Adame and Jacques Poulin-Denis in, Costume Design in 2001 to Mario Alonzo for AXIS’ entire Home Season, Company Performance in 2000 for AXIS’ entire Home Season, Choreography to Bill T. Jones in 2000 for, Individual Performance in 2000 to Uli Schmitz, the first disabled dancer to receive this award, This page was last edited on 30 April 2020, at 00:56. At Axis Dance Studio our mission isn’t just to build skilled dancers. There will also be a brief retrospective look at the company's three-decade history. The two founded Axis soon after in 1987, creating a dance that the company performed a year later at a festival. We want everyone to feel welcome in the dance space. This first piece premiered in 1988, receiving a standing ovation. Through interactions between these dancers and nondisabled dancers, a new dance vocabulary began to be developed. However, ironically, we ended up engaging the community in different ways that allowed us to reach people that we might not under normal circumstances. Art is essential, dance is essential, contact is essential. As a young child I would follow music no matter where I was, and that trend continued as I grew older. I had always danced on my own growing up but got more into the hip-hop genre during high school, before becoming a wheelchair user. Mission: AXIS Dance Company’s mission is to create and perform high quality contemporary dance that is developed through the collaboration of dancers with and without disabilities.AXIS teaches dance and educates about collaboration and disability through community education and outreach programs. [It] is not the same [as working together in real life] but I'm grateful that even though the world has changed the way we socialize, we as artists keep finding ways to keep doing the work. Who decides who belongs in a community? Interview, Judith Smith, “Artistic Director, AXIS Dance Company” conducted by Esther Ehrlich in 2005, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 2006. Add a bio, recollection, and more. I feel it is a great tool this virtual access that we have now in the world because that opens the possibilities to bring people together from different parts of the world. I have had many roles [including] costume designer, performer, teaching artist, and associate director…. While browsing the internet I came across this article about the premiere of Bill t. Jones work for AXIS Dance Company: “Fantasie in C”. He has a trim, dark-brown beard, a piercing under his lower lip and on his ear, and wears a black cap, a flowered shirt, and … My whole life I wanted to be a dancer but because I was in a wheelchair and living in the Caribbean ( Puerto Rico) every time I was trying to take a class or join an artistic group, I was rejected. Phone: (415) 398-2333 Fax: (415) 398-4733 Email: info [at] horizonsfoundation.org Federal Tax ID: 94-2686530 Charity Navigator Score: 100 Causes: Arts & Culture, Arts Education, Dance. Founded in 1987, AXIS is the nation’s most acclaimed ensembles of disabled and non-disabled performers based in Oakland, CA. It's in my blood and bones. AXIS Dance Company Artistic Director Marc Brew is photographed against a white background. As noted in its vision statement, the long-time National Endowment for the Arts grantee aims to “create a radically inclusive dance sector and world by removing barriers and showcasing the beauty of difference.” Update information for AXIS Dance Company >> Dance History Project Articles. Can You Guess These Christmas Movies From Partial Character Lists? Under her creative leadership, AXIS has grown into a dynamic ensemble … AXIS Dance Company exists to change the face of dance and disability. The Company has created more than sixty repertory works, two evening-length works, and commissions for Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Bates Dance Festival, San Francisco Exploratorium, and CAL Performances-UAM/PFA. This innovative yet traditional event promises to be a combination of fun, professionalism and passion. I am sad for performing arts in general and theaters. Mar 29, 1991. It is one of the first contemporary dance companies in the world to consciously develop choreography that integrates dancers with and without physical disabilities. AXIS Dance Company is comprised of disabled and non-disabled dancers working together to challenge misconceptions about the art form. My passion for dance grew as I became an adult, learning about new types of dance and methods of expression. [7] This event was supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation National Project Program, and culminated in the creation of the report, The Future of Physically Integrated Dance in the USA, which looks at “ways to 1) improve and expand training opportunities and develop pedagogy for dancers with disabilities; and 2) improve training and expand opportunities for disabled choreographers and nondisabled choreographers to work with disabled dancers or integrated ensembles.”[8]. 1991 Trisha Brown awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. AXIS Dance Company grew out of a movement class into a jewel of contemporary dance, featuring work by leading choreographers performed by brilliant—and diverse—dancers. I've been with [the company] for three years now. Welcome to AXIS Dance Competition where Linda Diamonds years of experience bring you the vitality of a new beginning. The message that AXIS shares makes an impact not only to dancers, but the community as well—changing not only what dance looks like, but people's notion of ability. Unfortunately I have spent more time facilitating online dance classes and work sessions in Zoom rooms on the computer then I have in my entire life; I miss contact and partnering. Contact improvisation has a huge place in the history of physically-integrated dance. AXIS Dance Company hits the stage in San Francisco with The Radical Impact Tour May 4-6, 2018 at Z Space. It is one of the first contemporary dance companies in the world to consciously develop choreography that integrates dancers with and without physical disabilities. AXIS Dance Company. The project provides AXIS with a period of research and development with choreographers Nichole Canuso (PA), Beth Gill (NY) and Jill Sigman (NY) each of … AXIS Dance Company, which focuses on physically integrated dance by performers with and without disabilities, formed in Oakland. Dance Informa spoke with Judith Smith to find out more about the physically-integrated contemporary dance company and why AXIS makes such an impact. Nurture your network and further your business goals with smart intelligence on the people and companies that matter most to you. Working with AXIS Dance Company has opened my mind for more possibilities in the creative space. In 1987, she cofounded AXIS Dance Company (then AXIS Dance Troupe), which pioneered physically integrated dance created through the collaboration of dancers with and without disabilities. American Artscape: The Arts in the Time of COVID, A Look at the National Endowment for the Arts' Leadership in Accessibility. Dancers: Sonsherée Giles, Joel Brown & Sebastian Grubb. In 1998, Judith Smith took over Artistic Direction, and visioning a repertory company quickly trajected AXIS into the dance world with a commission by Bill T. Jones. AXIS Dance Company began when a group of dancers with and without physical disabilities came together to explore dance. I’ve been a dancer with AXIS for about a year now and one of the biggest things [that’s changed] since having the opportunity to dance with artists of all types of abilities [is it’s] expanded my view as to what a person can and cannot do [and] also to how a person can overcome most, if not all, obstacles that would stop them from being seen as a professional dancer/artist. In May 2016 during its 30th anniversary season, AXIS Dance Company hosted the first, three-day National Convening: The Future of Physically Integrated Dance in the USA at Gibney Dance in New York. Inside AXIS Dance Company: A Conversation with the Company. Photo by Ren Dodge. Contribute to The Dance History Project of Southern California. featuring physically integrated dancers, returns to MANCC for their second residency. Founded in 1987, AXIS Dance Company is an Oakland, California-based physically integrated dance company whose ensemble comprises disabled and non-disabled performers. AXIS Dance Company’s Divide by Marc Brew (2014). My journey to becoming a dancer started when I was very young. This pandemic has made me realize how much we relate to other bodies to get ideas and create. Founded in 1987 and based in Oakland, California, AXIS has become a jewel of contemporary dance and disability culture. AXIS has received numerous Isadora Duncan Dance Awards (IZZIES) including: The company has also received numerous IZZIE nominations for artistic work and production elements. One thing is for sure, the future of dance doesn't necessarily need to happen in the same room! offer an extensive array of events for adults and youth of all abilities. Describe how AXIS Dance utilizes contact improvisation in creating work. Axis Dance Co. | 202 South Second Avenue, Durant, Oklahoma 74701 | info@axisdanceco.com | 580.920.9910 In AXIS we don't have specific roles for disabled and nondisabled; we are all treated like equals in the dance space. AXIS began in 1987 when founding Artistic Director Thais Mazur had the great idea and creative vision to gather a group of dancers with and without disabilities to explore dance and create a performance piece. Notable performances include the Olympic Arts Festival, 2002; Meredith Monk’s 40th Anniversary Celebrations at St. Marks & the World Financial Center, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts; Scottsdale Center for the Arts; UC Santa Barbara; Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago ; SF Internat’l Arts Festival; The Kentucky Center for the Arts; Paralympics 1997; Walker Arts Center; Dartmouth College; Flynn Center for the Performing Arts; UMass Fine Arts Center; University of Cologne, Germany; Dance Umbrella’s Internat’l Festival of Aerial Dance; and Railroad Theater, Novosibirsk, Siberia. If you represent AXIS Dance Company or have material relevant to this organization, we invite you to contribute. ... AXIS Artistic Director Judith Smith and MANCC Director Carla Peterson honor AXIS’s 27 year history with a conversation about the legacy of repertory companies. 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