Dancing with crutches
What can one learn about mobility assistive devices from a dance company?
If you, Dear Reader, like intersections of art and disabilities nearly as much as I do, you’ll probably find an article about dance and mobility devices by Margaret Fuhrer to be a source of fascination. Ms. Fuhrer’s article appeared in the New York Times 7 May 2025 under the full title, “With Telescoping Crutches and Hexapod Legs, Dance Goes New Places: A new work by Axis Dance Company, ‘Kinematic/Kinesthetic,’ uses mobility technologies to reshape ideas about moving and about the devices themselves.” The story is longish, so set aside time to read (or listen) to it, and add enough time to enjoy Aaron Womack’s images and videos that accompany it.
Here’s the lede:
What are crutches for? To help an injured or disabled person get from Point A to Point B?
Like most mobility devices, crutches are often designed and viewed in a matter-of-fact medical framework. There is a problem to be fixed; the device is the solution.
Performances by Axis Dance Company routinely explode that idea. For Axis — a Berkeley, Calif., ensemble of both disabled and non-disabled dancers — a crutch brims with creative possibilities: It might be a partnering support, a third leg, an elongated arm.
As one can infer from the headline for her story, Ms. Fuhrer reported about how the work of Axis Dance Company has helped influence the design and construction of mobility assistive devices. She also explained how the devices can become more than…uhm…well…crutches.
Axis advances accessibility in dance. I encourage you, DRs, to learn about performances of “Kinematicc / Kinesthetic,”1 especially if you’re in the Bay Area of San Fransisco where there are live performances slated for May 2025. Check out other resources that Axis provided, including its “Access Guide,” which is “aimed at venues and presenters keen on advancing their understanding of accessibility …[and]… addresses the critical and overdue need for accessible dance and performing arts spaces.”
Also, learn more about the author and photographer of the NY Times piece. On her Web site, DRs can find links to many other publications by Ms. Fuhrer. For those who want to learn more about Mr. Wojack and his work, visit his eponymous Web site. .
Dear Readers who have been around SET for a while—well, since at least late 2024—and have intact memory may recall an earlier post about dance and disability. In that post in October 2024, I included a snippet about Candoco Dance Company, a UK-based dance company that provided performances choreographed by Celeste Dandeker, who has quadriplegia.
Footnote
Talk about multi-sensory! This may not involve olfactory or gustatory senses, but it obviously has the VAKT!