Able as anything : integrated dance in New Zealand

Abstract

This thesis investigates integrated dance with a specific focus on New Zealand. The first chapter gives a review of the different models of disability. In chapter two I will discuss various theoretical perspectives on integrated dance and embodied experiences of integrated dance artists. A brief history of disability and dance in New Zealand is provided in chapter three, which offers an account of the progressive societal changes that created space for professional disabled dancers to enter the contemporary dance stage. This leads on to the fourth chapter which involves an analysis of three different works by New Zealand based Touch Compass, including This Word Love (1999), Lighthouse (2002) and Picnic (2003). The analysis demonstrates Touch Compass's development as a company, revealing an increasing complexity of the work, particularly with regard to how the disabled dancing body is represented and reconstructed on stage.