VSA, the international organization on arts and disability, formerly known as Very Special Arts, will bring more than 50 performances to Washington, D.C., this coming week to celebrate the diversity and artistry of artists of every stripe representing nearly 50 countries.
Among the scheduled performances are a number of interesting dance companies. I spoke with Connecticut and New York based choreographer David Dorfman and Axis Dance Company co-founder and artistic director Judy Smith, for a story about Dorfman's "Light Shelter." Axis appears next weekend at the Atlas Performing Arts Center. The Dorfman work has a community component and is seeking disabled and able-bodied dancers at an audition call on Monday, June 7 at Dance Place.
"'We don't consider ourselves a disabled dance company,' says Judith Smith, Axis co-founder and artistic director. The California-based company, which has collaborated with some of contemporary dance's most celebrated artists -- Bill T. Jones, Joe Goode, Margaret Jenkins, Stephen Petronio and Meredith Monk among them -- has a repertory of cutting-edge choreography, Smith says.
"'We basically refer to ourselves as a contemporary dance company that does physically integrated work, meaning we have dancers with and without disabilities,' says Smith, 50, who has been in a wheelchair since a car accident at age 17."
The full story appears in today's Washington Post Weekend here.
A few more highlights of the festival are explored here.
