Making all the right moves

If the public think of disabled people dancing they tend to either think of some kind of therapy session or the BBC’s major TV let-down Dancing on Wheels. But the truth is that disabled people are kicking at the doors of the professional dance industry. Mik Scarlet chats with deaf dancer and choreographer Mark Smith

For many years there have been groundbreaking companies that have had an inclusive policy when creating dance, such as Candoco, but in the last few years there has been an explosion of new disabled dance talent. I have always been a dance fan, so I watched this explosion keenly. New talent like the superb dancer and choreographer Marc Brew and the amazing dancer, acrobat and cheerleader Rick Rodgers are both names of the future.

Recently I was asked to appear in the dance/theatre production by Graeae’s Rhinestone Rollers – Wheels on Broadway – which premiered at the Greenwich and Docklands International Festival. The show was great (if you want to see it catch us at the Liberty Festival this year). But how do disabled people get into the world of dance? During a break in rehearsals I chatted with the “Rollers” choreographer Mark Smith.

Mark is another rising talent, who after training at the Royal Ballet School and the London Studio Centre has gone on to carve a successful career as a dancer. He performed with companies including Firefly, La Ribot and Aaron Williamson Dance Company and went on to choreograph works such as Lift, Brand New Day, Introducing Warhol’s Superstar…and Elvis as well as Wheels on Broadway. His latest project is Deaf Men Dancing, who have performed widely to great acclaim.

So, I wondered, how did  Mark get into dance? “I started dancing when I was four. My mother used to take my older sister to dancing school and I was dragged along. I was diagnosed as deaf when I was four and started wearing hearing aids for the first time. At my sister’s dance classes, I became fascinated with the feeling of vibration from the floor/speakers and seeing children dancing in time with piano or recorded music. I used to copy them at the back of the class. A dance teacher asked my mother if I would like to join in. She let me join and since then, I’ve had the dancing bug!

“I feel a sense of freedom when I dance. I feel that I can communicate freely. It helped me to express myself. I love the feeling of challenge, hard work, sweat and passion. That’s why I like to incorporate sign language into my choreography as a connection with my deafness and it’s given me a new way of communication through dance. Sign language and dance is about language. It’s a perfect combination together.

“The reason why I set up my own all-male dance company called Deaf Men Dancing was because I wanted to break down the barrier and change people’s perspective of deaf dancers. Through DMD, I wanted to show them that deaf professional dancers danced no differently to hearing professional dancers. We work in a different way and we work much harder to achieve our goals. People are still ignorant of deaf and disabled dance.

“Dance companies like Candoco, Marc Brew Company and StopGAP are slowly changing people’s perspective of disabled dance. I am hoping to do the same with Deaf Men Dancing. We have come a long way and we are gaining respect for our work. We’ve still got a long way to go.

“I would like to see more deaf and disabled dancers and choreographers in the future. Also I’d like to see more deaf and  disabled dance/theatre companies. I hope that I’m inspiring more deaf and disabled artists, like I was inspired by Candoco and Graeae Theatre Company. I didn’t have a deaf dancer or choreographer role model to look up to. I am excited to see deaf and disabled dance growing and developing, especially during and after London 2012.

“Personally, I would like to become a successful and established choreographer and cross over into the mainstream. I’ve got exciting projects in the pipeline that I’ve got a good feeling about. I would like Deaf Men Dancing to become a successful dance company and I’d like to set up more dance projects to inspire more deaf and disabled dancers.”

As well as being really enjoyable, dancing for three weeks got me much fitter. Whether you try out for a professional dance group, attend local dance classes, go out clubbing or just dance in the privacy of your own home, give it a go!