Established by Belinda Johnson (PhD) an academic expert in disability and social inclusion from RMIT University, and Tristan Sinclair, an inclusive dance artist/choreographer with extensive experience working with dancers with intellectual disabilities. Together, we are dedicated to fostering inclusive, sustainable dance practices that elevate the voices of dancers with intellectual disabilities and integrate their contributions into the broader arts and academic landscapes.
Based in Melbourne, Australia, ds-dancecollab collaborates with local dancers and academics to create spaces for creative exploration, professional development, and impactful research. Our work is grounded in community connections and driven by the shared vision of a more equitable and inclusive arts sector.
In this SERC research project, we explored different dance approaches with a group of adult dancers with Down syndrome in a series of dance workshops at WXYZ Studios in North Melbourne.
We wanted to find out what this group seek from dance, what interests them and what opportunities they would like in future dance projects. Dancers made it clear that they want opportunities to perform and make digital content, and they don't see why they should only be dancing with other dancers with Down syndrome. They want opportunities as artists, they want to access other dance worlds and they want equity in their dance practice.
What's unique in our approach is the ongoing collaboration between social researchers and inclusive dance practitioners so that research projects respond to what we learn and see from industry practice, and the dance practitioners can inform and shape their practice with what they learn through being part of the research.
We see dancers with Down syndrome as our collaborators and experts on what people with Down syndrome experience and value. Some of the dancers started to undertake research activities in the project and we hope to keep developing this research capability towards having co-researchers with Down syndrome on future projects.
