Viva La Faun! Dispatches From Valencia, Spain #3

History makes one aware that there is no finality in human affairs; there is not a static perfection or an unimproveable wisdom to be achieved. -Bertrand Russell

The worlds of dance, disability and medicine came together in a wonderful way today. Tamar, myself and the dancers of Balletvale+ visited Valencia’s premier’s dance company, Generalitat Valenciana. With any traditional dance company, the professional dancers would have taught the dancers with disabilities, but the work that Tamar and I do is anything but traditional. For the last two days we have been preparing the Balletvale+ dancers by teaching them “Body Scripting.” Today we asked them to be choreographers for the professional dancers  of Generalitat Valenciana and develop choreography using the lessons they have learned during our sessions.

We have been talking to the teachers and PT’s at Balletvale+ about developing methods and techniques that would work to change the habitual patterns of their dancers with cerebral palsy and other disabilities. It’s also important to realize however, that classically trained dancers also have extremely entrenched habitual patterns that have been developed over years of consistent, repetitive training. Maybe dancers and people with cerebral palsy have more in common then they realize. Their both, in their own way, experts on their own body with very specific body intelligences.

So much happened today, but words are failing me at the moment. Maybe I’ll let these images speak for me. Enjoy and more tomorrow.

Gregg & Tamar

Dancers from Generalitat Valencia, Teatre i Dansa

The Balletvale+ choreographers give “body scripts” to professional dancers

Dancers perform the choreography of the Balletvale+ choreographers

The Balletvale+ dancers join the dancers of Generalitat Valencia

Shoulder blade to shoulder blade

Sternum and the back of the knee

The entire ensemble