When Mary Fletcher-Verdi founded Dancing Wheels in 1980, what the company did was sui generis. Born with spina bifada and using a wheelchair, Fletcher-Verdi had always wanted to be a dancer, and nothing was going to stop her.
The professional company she started nearly 40 years ago has now become known nationally for its distinctive choreography, which integrates wheelchair and “stand-up” dancers in seamless performances.
Make that internationally. This week the full company is travelling to Beijing, China, to perform to at China’s Luminous Festival, its first-ever festival to feature disabled artists. They’ll open the festival’s dance concert at Beijing’s 77 Theater on Sat 10/19.
Their concert will feature some of the company’s most stellar repertoire including works by choreographers Peter Kalivas, Dianne McIntyre, Donald McKayle and Mark Tomasic.
Kalivas’ Missing You is a triple duet, restaged her as a double duet, which explores the communication between pairs of stand-up and sit-down dancers. McIntyre’s Sweet Radio Radicals features a five-member cast of women performing to music by female artists such as the Carter Sisters, Mahalia Jackson, Dolly Parton and Janis Joplin.
Mark Tomasic’s Concerto DW is danced to three concerti from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. And Donald McKayle’s Far East of the Blues, one of the late choreographer’s final pieces of ethnically and racially inclusive dance, was premiered with the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra at Playhouse Square.
“Our work as an international touring company has allowed us to open the doors to arts access for many who would not otherwise have the inspiration, direction, or know-how to do so,” said Fletcher-Verdi in announcing the event. “Countries with a more recent history of providing equitable rights and opportunities for people with disabilities are making great progress toward inclusivity in all arenas, including in the arts. Performances like ours prove to be eye-opening and transformative experiences for audience members.”
After the trip, the company members plan to choreograph new works inspired by their experiences in Beijing, along drawing inspiration from the exhibit Invisible Cities by Beijing artist Liu Wei, currently on view at moCa Cleveland. They will be debuted at moCa in a concert called East Meets West…A Tale of Two Cities on Thu 12/12.