Dork Dancing with Disability Reveals Ability
Abled-bodied. What does that mean? A quick search on google reveals: fit, strong, and healthy; not physically disabled. Disability. What does that mean? A physical or mental condition that limits a person’s movements, senses, or activities. A disadvantage or handicap. Ahhhh ok. Got it. Thanks Google.
Disabilities are characterized by limitations and disadvantages, physically and/ or mentally. At Dork Dancing we see the ABILITY in embracing disabilities. We started with a focus on de-stigmatizing mental health, mental illness, or MENTAL “disability” (you can Call Us MENTAL) but the body is so intricately connected. Whether physical or mental, we are finding strength in what we have, who we are, and what makes us unique.
#dorkdancing is for everyone, but out of the 230+ dancers who have joined us thus far at the beach in Da Nang, everyone has been “abled-bodied,” with legs, arms, and hips moving well without limitation. On October 10th, World Mental Health Day, we celebrated with a Dork Party. There, our community grew; and we became a bit more inclusive.
We danced with disability in a new kind of way, dancing with “disabled” ladies at CORMIS, a local NGO serving marginalized populations. The experience went really well, the ladies had a lot of fun dancing with us, so we were invited to dance with them some more. This time, online.
Here Dung Mai, the founder of CORMIS describes the experience in a Facebook social media post, her text is copied & pasted here:
YES WE CAN DANCE
We had a great evening with the founder of Dork Dancing, Ethan Levy. 16 people with disabilities from different provinces in the Central and North Vietnam, including those living in Hue and Quang Tri where have been affected a lot by natural disasters, joined this trial session of Dork Dancing (a free dancing, however you can move is what best)
After being heard on the sharing from Ethan on his life and why he promotes this Dork Dancing, our people started to dance with the songs selected before by our group. There were very “strong” music and also very gentle songs during the session. After the 1st song was turned on, about 60-70% of people in our group started to move their bodies. Some people who have severe disability were still shy and just sat observing other people. In the 2nd song, the ratio of people who moved started to increase. From the 3rd song with the stronger music, all people danced. No one was shy then. They just dance in a way they can.
Those who can only move 1 hand in their body danced by their one hand. Those who can move two hands danced with their two hands. So, basically, they move any parts they have and can function in their bodies. Each person has their own dancing style. No one was the same. However, all their faces were filled the same thing, bright eyes and happy smiles. They kept dancing one after other songs with their capacity and the ways they want to dance. This was the first time we can see a very special and beautiful dancing group. It touched our hearts when seeing their movement came from their inner passion and confidence.
The feedback after the session was quite positive:
• I have never thought that I can dance or even just move my arm following the music. With the encouragement of our group, I decided to join the session tonight and I feel very exciting and relaxing with dancing.
• I feel very happy, comfortable and relaxing
• I don’t know where my headache has gone
• I really like listening to the music and dancing. Sometimes I want to dance at home to make me feel better but I have not dared to dance as I were scared that other people will laugh at me and they think I might be crazy
• I have thought dancing is a tool that will never fit me. However, after trying, I love it. I feel much more relaxing.
• I feel I am a free woman with the dancing.
• It has been such a long time now I can smile. Thanks for the dancing. When can we dance again?
Sharing with the group by the end of the session Ethan said: you all should be proud of yourself as you all are very open minded, willing to try new thing, willing to experience Dork Dancing. There might be some people who are not confident to dance but you guys are not like that. There are a lot of opportunities that come to us every day. If you are confident to make decision today, you will have your confidence to make more decisions later. This is really a powerful experience for me. I look forward to seeing you all again”.
Dung Mai’s message is clear: dancing with disability is powerful. In that, a refreshing perspective on ability emerges: we can do more than we may imagine.
Disability does not mean unable. Disability means ability within a framework of limitations. Nobody is superman. We all have limitations. Some with lost limbs, others with lost minds. Many with lost perspective. That’s what we’re working on, shifting perspective, giving permission to embrace and love our limitations to the best of our ability. It looks different in each of us, some with more challenging limitations than others.
Limitations capture a defining characteristic of our humanity and we are learning, together, how to love it. Behind the physical, there’s something MENTAL underneath. We can work together to break free from the stigma, from self and others. We can give ourselves permission to dance with our disabilities, finding beauty in what we have and who we are. Within disability, you can find a beautiful ability. It’s up to us to discover that.