A Black dancer wearing a two piece tropical outfit leans on their cane with their right hand. They are kneeling on their right knee with their left leg extended. Their left hand in the center moves gracefully. They wear a face mask and have braids.

Dancing disability lab

The Dancing Disability Lab, held yearly at UCLA, is an experimental, weeklong exploration of performance and choreographic development for Disabled dance artists committed to Disability Justice.

Funded by

Collaborators

Led by Victoria Marks
India Harville
JJ Omelagah
Kayla Hamilton

YEARS

2021-2024

OVERVIEW

One of Embraced Body's proudest accomplishments to date has been securing a multi-year contract with UCLA to provide comprehensive accessibility design and Disability Justice training services for their esteemed Dancing Disability Lab. This immersive two-week dance intensive, tailored specifically for QTBIPOC-Disabled dancers, embodies our commitment to inclusivity and equity.

Over the past three years, Embraced Body has played a pivotal role in leading the Dancing Disability Lab, enriching the experiences of UCLA staff and multiple cohorts of multiply marginalized Disabled dancers. Our dedication to Disability Justice principles and inclusive programming has been evident in every aspect of the process.

Play the 2023 recap video with captions

Play the 2023 recap video with captions & audio description

Background

Embraced Body was originally hired to support the 2020-2021 Dancing Disability Lab with issues that emerged from moving online during the pandemic and to help the lab uplevel its approach to working with multiply marginalized disabled cohorts. India facilitated reconciliation sessions for various parties involved, and through that process it became clear that having a Disability Justice and Equity consultant and an Access Doula present each year would support the lab.  Embraced Body has supported UCLA with the Dancing Disability Lab every year since.

A black nonbinary artist with shaved hair and earrings receives a hug from an older white woman with short grey hair. Both wear glasses and facemasks.
A diverse group of individuals of varying abilities, ages, and races dance on purple mats on the floor, or in their wheelchairs. They are in a rehearsal space and most wear face masks.
A diverse group of black individuals of differing abilities pose together in front of an orange curtain in a dance space. Most wear facemasks and casual clothes. Some use assistive devices like wheelchairs, mobility canes, and walking canes.
India Harville, a black disabled woman with long locs and tinted glasses speaks into a microphone. She is wearing fingerless gloves, black leggings, a colorful patterned dress, and sandals. She's in a wheelchair with her service dog resting at her si

Approach

2021
In the first year, we held active listening sessions with members of the cohort and did reconciliation work with a transformative justice approach. We did some work around repair between different groups and invited people who experienced harm to have healing justice sessions. Based on what we learned, we decided to provide the main facilitation team with disability justice education and best practices for working with multiple marginalized Disabled populations.

2022
In 2022, we added an access doula to support the needs of disabled artists present. We found that having someone with that as their sole focus made artists feel like they were better held. We added disability justice education for the Disabled dance cohort and built in more work around creating access intimacy.

2023
We brought on Kayla Hamilton as a facilitator and focused on adding art making and performance skill building on top of the things we established in 2022. 

Overall
From designing a fully accessible application process to creating an inclusive website, arranging accessible travel and housing accommodations, and providing specialized dietary options, we ensured that every participant's needs were met with utmost care and consideration.

Moreover, our commitment extended to making the performances generated through the lab accessible for various disabilities, ensuring that all attendees could fully engage and enjoy the transformative power of dance.

An older white woman with short grey hair serves as facilitator. She and the group are seated on the floor with notecards spread out in front of them. She points to one of them as she speaks to the group. They are all wearing facemasks.
A group of majority disabled people circle together in front of a white board with lots of notes written on it. Their arms are around each others shoulders or they are holding hands as their heads are bowed respectfully.
Two women in wheelchairs, a white woman in a wheelchair speaks into a microphone while a black woman also in a wheelchair, watches and listens intently. A tall black individual in glasses is standing nearby, signing.
Three performers are pictured from behind, dancing. Their hands are up and touching their neighbor's hand, palm to palm. The dancer in the center is standing wearing a red top and patterned flowy capris while the two dancers on the left and right are

“India exemplified active listening, created empathic and caring space for each participant, encouraged necessary conversations, and held complexity. Her navigation of inter-personal and political conflict supported artist participants and facilitators to find closure, and supported the Dancing Disability Lab to develop structures that realigned it with principles of Disability Justice. I am deeply grateful to India for her capacity to lift up each person’s experience with compassion. She invites us all to be our very best selves.”

VICTORIA MARKS
FACULTY DIRECTOR: DANCING DISABILITY LAB

A dancing performance featuring two individuals with disabilities in wheelchairs. They strike a pose with elegance, one hand raised to the air and the other aligned in the opposite direction. The Black dancer in the foreground wears red headphones an
An individual with cropped black hair speaks into a microphone with their right hand raised and gesturing. They are wearing a black tank top and black sweatpants. They have a lot of tattoos and wear a red facemask,
Two individuals with visual impairments have their arms around each others shoulders as they smile into the camera in front of an orange curtain. They are wearing glasses and holding their mobility canes in their hands.
JJ Omelagah speaking into a microphone. They are wearing all black and reaching out invitingly with their left arm.

IMPACT

Our work with the Dancing Disability Lab has created bigger ripples in the Disabled dance circles and at UCLA as a whole, even contributing to UCLA’s newly launched Disability Studies major. There’s also been a wider recognition of the utility of access doulas, resulting in other organizations hiring JJ, our access doula, to train them on how to have their own access doulas.

Through our collaboration with UCLA and the success of the Dancing Disability Lab, we have not only advanced the principles of Disability Justice but also empowered a community of QTBIPOC-Disabled dancers to thrive and express themselves fully. This accomplishment is a testament to our unwavering dedication to creating spaces that celebrate diversity, foster inclusion, and promote social justice.

IN THE NEWS

UCLA SCHOOL OF THE ARTS AND ARCHITECTURE

Several people wearing face masks dance together in front of an orange curtain. They are of differing abilities, ages, and races.

UCLA’S 2023 Dancing Disability Lab Supports Cross-Disability Solidarity

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How We Move: An Intensive For Disabled Dancers