Ability & Dance - Essay Example

First Lecturer’s Homework Ability & Dance Dance and disability, in our everyday parlance, do NOT go together. Dance is seen by all as a chance for able-bodied (and to many only able-bodied) people to stretch their physical abilities in a way that defies everyday use of our human form. Thus the definition of dance has always included dexterity and the concept of dexterity has always precluded or excluded any thoughts of inability or deformity or disability. The minute you include disability in a dance sequence it ceases to be an invocation of dexterity but instead, attention focuses on the disability, with our initial reaction being – they are so brave to do that?

Our reaction tends to wander from discomfort (should they be allowing a man with no legs to do that?) to rather patronizingly expressed wonder at how they are able to achieve that. We forget that the dance is meant to be enjoyed to be a beautiful spectacle and not an item of pity, discomfort, or faked wonder (Kilgannon). Over the years the concept of a disabled person dancing has always been frowned upon as if it is an imposition as if it is an added burden – don t they have enough difficulty as it is just walking on one leg, how will they ever manage to dance as well?

As do the reactions – fake or otherwise – “It must be really taxing to achieve that”. Yet these are never asked of able-bodied dancers. Instead, we are too wrapped up in the beauty and completeness of their sequences. Which al suddenly becomes unimportant and unimpressive the minute we see a disabled person try the same thing (Kilgannon). The first is the sequence with the hoola hoops done by the very flexible gentlemen and the lady. This sequence enables the audience to be mesmerized by how the two blend together, with the hoops being utilized very efficiently as props that improve the storytelling and narration of the dance.

We see the man and the woman almost compete as far as dexterity is concerned, each showing off how flexible they are and how intricately they can use the hoops. The second sequence is the one in the dance studio with the disabled man and the able-bodied ballet dancer where they intertwine their limbs in such a way as to meld together in a beautiful concert of their limbs, the man’s arms and the lady's legs (Kilgannon).In the film the issues are not just of physical ability there is also mental ability since one of the men has an obsessive-compulsive disorder of some sort going on as well.

The film basically shows the humanity of the characters and tries to remove the inability but, as it does in everyday life, it is always there, making the viewer uncomfortable, admiring, and enjoying, all at the same time. There are obviously cultural nuances in the language and the dialect of English that they speak which is more rural less urban and less urban, making the characters easier to relate to as everyday people (Kilgannon). Work CitedKilgannon, Corey. "Confronting Disability with Modern Dance.