I have been on the internet for forever and these famous dance scene recreations from film by People Dancing, a community dance project in the UK (that was completed in 2014) are crazy good, and I’m only discovering it now! The dance scenes are beautiful, polished, humorous; really perfectly done. The exhibit is called 11 Million Reasons and it took an entire year to complete. The world needs to see this! Please share what they’re doing.
We’ve seen videos of awesome wheelchair dancers before, but up until now there have never really been that many videos showing quite how it’s done. You can guess, maybe put two and two together if you took dance classes as an able-bodied person, but learning how to look really good while you dance in a wheelchair is no small feat.
That’s why we here at SPINALpedia love the internet. There are always new videos being published online, and a few recent ones finally show the world how to wheelchair dance. If you’ve always wanted to learn, but don’t have classes anywhere near you, you will love the wheelchair dance videos below. Read this entry
In podcast 96, Tiffiny is joined by Annette Hormozian, a wheelchair ballroom dancer from California who’s been dancing her entire life, both before and post injury (she was injured 24 years ago when the car she was riding in went off a cliff). Annette grew up doing belly dancing and traditional Assyrian dance, but transitioned to ballroom dance a couple years ago.
In this episode Tiffiny and Annette discuss how she got back into dance and finding her self-esteem after her injury, why dance is an opportunity to erase stereotypes and her recent journey into wheelchair ballroom dancing. She even won 1st place last year at the American DanceWheels Foundation’s 1st Annual Wheelchair Dance Competition (at Cheryl Burke’s Mountain View studio) last year, winning the power wheelchair division.
Annette also shares her secret for keeping her dress out of her wheels while she dances (not easy!), how wheelers can regain their confidence and more importantly, how people interested in wheelchair ballroom dance can try it out themselves.
Listen below. Run time is 55 minutes.
No Free Rides is brought to you by Easystand
Links:
– Visit American Dance Wheels Foundation
– Watch wheelchair ballroom dance videos from American Dance Wheels
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Resilient is her middle name.
Chelsie has only been a paraplegic since 2010, and she’s given hundreds of speeches at high schools about her story, and is one of the stars of the reality show Push Girls. Read this entry
In podcast 89, Tiffiny is joined by Judith Smith, the artistic director of AXIS Dance Company.
She is a C6 quad from a car accident in 1977 and moved on to a life of dance after her injury, much to her own surprise (she was into horse riding growing up, definitely not dance).
They discuss her journey, discovering the healing aspects of integrated dance, how AXIS was founded…
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Back in the year 2000, all you’d see online about wheelchair dance was wheelchair ballroom dance videos or maybe something on wheelchair ballet, but not anymore. Oh no.
Wheelchair dance has come a long way in the last decade, and Auti Angel of Push Girls, one of the best paralyzed hip-hop dancers in the world, has definitely helped make it more popular than ever. So we’ve uncovered a few others.
Mobile phone technology is the reason so much more wc-dance info is online, including the dozens of adapted dance videos that are available.
I’m always searching for videos that prove you can still be a dancer to be reckoned with even if you use a wheelchair, and these following videos do just that.
The first video profiles a young man from France paralyzed in a car accident. He was a self proclaimed “b-boy” before his injury, so figuring out how to adjust his moves to his body wasn’t something he even needed to think about.
He has invented this leg-crossing method to get into some very cool moves. Watch him perform to Michael Jackson’s “Beat it” and do one of his coolest moves – a wheelchair somersault. Read this entry
In episode 10, Auti’s overbearing nature is spotlighted. She and Eric mix words while recording tracks for their new CD, and the Colours ‘n Motion dance crew butt heads after Chelsie and Mia get sick of doing the same old routine. Tiphany also takes Chelsie mini-golfing!
SPOILERS AHEAD ****
This episode begins with Chelsie getting dropped off at Tiphany & Angela’s house. Chelsie is staying at the house because she’s in town for an upcoming performance with the Colors n’ Motion dance crew. The dance team is scheduled to perform at an “abilities event” at a nearby aquarium that weekend. Tiphany shows off her luggage pushing method with her footrests. Man that girl has some upper body strength.
Tiphany shares how much she values her relationship with Chelsie, hoping she can be a good mentor to her since Chelsie was injured only two years ago and is just 19. After Chelsie arrives, the show goes into the close relationship Tiphany and Chelsie have created since they’re so alike in personalities.
“She’s like my older sister that I never had,” says Chelsie. “You are so tan,” Tiphany says as she looks over Chelsie once they get into the house. “And you’re so hot. Why are you so hot?” she asks with a smile, and they laugh. A fashion side note, Tiphany sure
In this episode, Chelsie and the girls dish on men (sex in the chair revealed!), three of them perform hip-hop at the Abilities Expo (and overcome a move gone wrong) and Angela finally finds a casting agent who thinks she has a real shot in the modeling industry. This is my favorite episode yet (by far).
SPOILERS AHEAD ****
Episodes 7 begins with the utterly adorable (and god damn is she in good shape) Chelsie rolling up to Auti’s house for a dance practice session with Auti and Mia (for an upcoming performance at the Abilities Expo in San Jose), for their wheelchair hip-pop wheelchair dance group, Colours ‘n Motion (“Auti’s Wheelchair Dance School.” Why doesn’t this exist yet?)
I like how Chelsie admits that after injury she wasn’t interested in wheelchair dance. “I thought it looked weird.” “But then I met Auti and it all clicked.” If anyone can prove that it’s not stupid, it’s Auti.
While they’re practicing, can I just say that Mia looks overwhelmingly cute in her uber-long braided pigtails? I don’t care if she’s 33. She can pull them off like nobody’s business.
After practice, they nom on some store bought sushi as they discuss their big performance (this will be the first time many of Chelsie’s friends and family see her dance in her wheelchair). “It’ll be the first time, like, you know, instead of like on videos and stuff,” she says.
Check out the amazing dancer, Andrea Jerabek, a lifelong dancer and recent amputee (who opted to have it amputated in 2005 after being born with a deformed foot), who incorporates her wheelchair and creates the most beautiful lines you’ve ever seen.
