Creative Spaces NetworkChristchurch dance company Jolt is taking its internationally recognised, disability-led approach to performance and education to South Korea in November.
A team of dancers and tutors — with and without disabilities — will visit Seoul and Busan to share Jolt’s inclusive dance model, co-create performances, and lead training workshops with Korean artists and educators.
Jolt empowers dancers with intellectual disabilities through programmes that challenge mainstream views of dance, disability and difference, exploring movements and connections that are artistically unique.
The group was invited by Seoul-based organisation Light Sound and Friends, who were inspired by Jolt’s Move programme, which supports dancers with disabilities to become teachers and creative leaders.
Together they will collaborate on the MADE (Mixed Ability Dance Education) programme to create a new performance with local dancers with disabilities.
The visit will also include professional development sessions focused on dance teaching and leadership.
After the Seoul festival, the team will travel to Busan to work with the Busan Cultural Foundation, the Busan Dance Company and the Ongru Creative Village. There, Jolt’s disability leaders Joel Forman and Lachlan Oakes will lead workshops and exchanges, showcasing the importance of disability leadership in the arts.
“When we work with dancers in South Korea, we will be giving them lots of mana and aroha and also getting them to learn the Jolt way of doing of things," says Lachlan Oakes. "We empower dancers to embrace their differences and be themselves, to own the space.”
Lyn Cotton, Jolt Artistic Director, says: “We feel humbled and excited to share Jolt’s unique artistic approach to dance and our disability-led kaupapa in South Korea.
"International collaborations allow us to grow our own practice and celebrate the pioneering work happening in this field in Aotearoa.”
About Jolt
Founded in 2001 by Lyn Cotton, Jolt’s whānau currently comprises more than 200 dancers with intellectual disabilities aged between 8 and 60+. Its inclusive teaching team, which includes Move-trained disabled dance leaders as tutors and assistants, work across 20 different weekly classes, nurturing the talents and building the skills of our dancers.
Jolt has also developed a dynamic performance programme that has expanded the boundaries of creativity. Audiences both with and without disabilities have been taken to places they haven’t been before, altering their world view.
Funding and support: Creative New Zealand, The IHC Foundation, The Rata Foundation, NZ Community Trust, The Blogg Trust, Maurice Carter Foundation, Lottery Community Grants, Tū Manawa, Community Organisation Grants Scheme, The Lamar Trust, Pub Charity, Kiwi Gaming Foundation, and generous private donors.
For further information contact:
Rachel Tully, General Manager
Rachel.tully@joltdance.co.nz or 022 090 1705
