Inclusive Choreography Grounded and Flying with Stopgap

Artistic Director Lindsey got to offer a skills exchange with ever dynamic and engaging Stopgap Dance Company. Lindsey’s always been interested and intrigued by Stopgap’s inclusive choreography and process of movement translation between disabled and non-disabled people and bodies. And, as you know, Gravity & Levity are on a quest to deepen our inclusive practices, so working with world leaders in inclusivity was a must.

Stopgap is a global leader in inclusivity and dance, driven by a diverse creative team who use dance as a movement for change. They are committed to removing barriers to dance, nurturing the talents of dancers born into any body and any mind. Stopgap are in coalition with a wave of organisations moving towards a better representation of diversity on our stages and in society.

Lindsey was recently invited to attend company class with Stopgap and observe rehearsals for company dancer and choreographer Nadenh Poan’s new work ‘Reflections’. 

Nadenh is a strong and dynamic wheelchair dancer and generous and detail oriented choreographer. He is choreographing a duet for Emily Lue-Fong and Christian Brinklow, two standing dancers and colleagues in the Stopgap team. The dynamic and intuitive duet contemplates Nadenh’s dual identity (Cambodian-British), reflecting peace and wildness through contrasting rhythms and spirited interactions.

“The dancers break down the translating process as a team by observing the spine, effort, focus, direction, rhythm and detail. The process can then move between different bodies until the director finds a version (or a collection of versions) that feel like a united physical language.” – Stopgap on their inclusive choreography and creation process.

This was absolutely what Lindsey had the privilege to witness at play, both in company class and the rehearsal studio.

In October, Lindsey will host the Stopgap dancers at The Dance Space in Brighton to try out aerial dance harness. They will explore how they might combine their skills, applying their honed translation processes and fly differently, together.

You can get an insight into Nadenh’s choreographic practice in his blog post on the Stopgap website. Keep an eye on Gravity & Levity socials for a peek into their collaborations in the studio.