Black Spirit Dance Collective
(A.M.P. Residency)
Embraced Body’s Black Spirit Dance Collective is a Black, fat-positive, Disabled/neurodiverse, Disabled/chronically ill, queer/genderqueer led arts collective dedicated to using the arts and ritual to support Black communities to have enough safety to understand their relationship to chronic illness and disability, whether personal or within their communities. We offer accessible dance classes and performances, healing rituals rooted in connecting with nature, sound healing, community building and community consciousness-raising events.
Funded by
Collaborators
JJ Omelagah
Tammy Johnson
Ifasina Clear
YEARS
2023-2025
BACKGROUND
The Black Spirit Dance Collective was born in June of 2023 when India was awarded the Access. Movement. Play. (A.M.P.) Residency from the Mellon Foundation. The A.M.P. Residency Program supports emerging and multi-marginalized Disabled artists who are often excluded from opportunities in the dance world. The residency will provide time, space, and caring resources, specifically designed BY and FOR Disabled artists, to further their practices and artistic works.
Lead Artists receive dedicated studio space in an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant studio space at Movement Research (MR); a residency fee; fees for collaborators; access as artistry resources; access providers as needed during the residency; a company manager during residency period; and travel, accessible accommodation, ground transportation, food stipends, wellness stipends, and support for a Personal Care Assistant.
GOAL
The exploration for India’s residency was how Black, multiply-marginalized Disabled people conceive of disability and access differently than other Disabled people and how might we be uniquely positioned to support conversations in the Black community about disability. She was chiefly interested in the ways that Disabled spaces often feel very racist and Black spaces often don’t center accessibility (and how that is also often related to racism).
Approach
We rooted this collaboration in spirituality as a transformational energy—we used ritual and invited the audience to participate deeply in the performance work. We also moved at the speed of our collective access, reimagining what performance might look like if it met our access needs. From the inception of the work we collaborated with audio describers, American Sign Language Interpreters, a DASL (pronounced Dazzle), which is a Director of Artistic Sign Language to ensure accessibility was a part of the aesthetics of the work. We prioritized working with Black access providers who could imbue the work with culturally appropriate nuances.
IMPACT
The AMP residency changed the lives of India and her 3 collaborators and allowed them to create a much needed safe space for Black communities to explore their relationship to disability. Embraced Body’s Spirit Dance Collective offers accessible dance classes and performances, healing rituals rooted in connecting with nature, sound healing, community building and community consciousness-raising events.
I am releasing my insecurities about being Black and Disabled through this work. But it ain’t just about disability, y’all. It’s about so much more. How do we be together as Black folks across all types of difference? I love these artists! I love Black folk!
IN THE NEWS
MOVEMENT RESEARCH
India Harville is the 2023 first Artist in Residence of the Access. Movement. Play. (A.M.P.) Residency Program