Michelle Ryan was told that Restless Dance Theatre performers wouldn’t be able to do everything other dancers can. She proved the naysayers wrong.
Award-winning choreographer Michelle Ryan was trying to get to her apartment in Adelaide during lockdown when she was stopped by police. Ryan, who has multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair, would usually arrange to be dropped off at an access-friendly entrance shared with a COVID medi-hotel. On that day, Ryan was also carrying luggage from a visit to her dying father.
Her own story is one of resilience and renewal. She was an able-bodied dancer with a thriving international career when an MS diagnosis turned her life upside down and steered her to the mixed-ability space., she says, is “all about being human. A lot of dance is about strength and execution and technique. Our guys have that. But it’s also their strength to show their vulnerability on stage.”Her favourite moment is a duet for two men. “It represents my dad.
She regards Restless Dance Theatre as an opportunity to bring diversity to the stage. “That’s always a thing which is so underrepresented in Australia. One in five people have a disability and yet you don’t see that on stage.”Ryan says Australia is only just starting to include disabled people in the arts. “It’s still a little bit tokenistic at times, if I can be blunt. Just because you work with one person with disability doesn’t mean you know how to integrate properly.
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