Disabled students in the performing arts – are we setting them up to succeed?

Abstract

Original citation: Band, S.A., Lindsay, G., Neelands, J. and Freakley, V. (2011). Disabled students in the performing arts -are we setting them up to succeed? International Journal of Inclusive Education. 15(9), pp. 891-908. Permanent WRAP url:http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/37602 Copyright and reuse:The Warwick Research Archive Portal (WRAP) makes this work of researchers of the University of Warwick available open access under the following conditions. Copyright © and all moral rights to the version of the paper presented here belong to the individual author(s) and/or other copyright owners. To the extent reasonable and practicable the material made available in WRAP has been checked for eligibility before being made available.Copies of full items can be used for personal research or study, educational, or not-forprofit purposes without prior permission or charge. Provided that the authors, title and full bibliographic details are credited, a hyperlink and/or URL is given for the original metadata page and the content is not changed in any way. AbstractProfessional training opportunities for students with physical and learning disabilities in the performing arts are conceived and developed in the context of government policy initiatives for inclusion and models of disability that aim to ensure that educational provision is of a kind which does not stigmatise individuals or devalue their performance. In this paper we consider three partnership programmes linking two theatre companies and one dance company with schools that provide high level mainstream training. The programmes were planned to offer paths to progression for disabled students, and we examine what the programmes have taught us about the characteristics of inclusive practice in drama and dance training that can set disabled students up to succeed.

Expanding opportunities to learn to support inclusive education through drama‐enhanced literacy practices

“…Our findings aligned with previous literature about the positive impact of drama on students’ learning, participation, social skills, self‐esteem and understanding of emotions (for example, Antonelli et al, ; Band et al, ; Edmiston, ; Szecsi, ; Kempe & Tissot, ; Kim, ; Mages, ). Additionally, several studies noted that integrating drama into classroom settings created a safe space for students with disabilities to participate in social interactions, enhanced their motivation to participate in learning activities, and empowered the students (for example, Antonelli et al, ; Kempe & Tissot, ; Edmiston, ; Farrand, ; Kilinc, Chapman et al, ).…”

Values, Attributes, and Practices of Dance Artists in Inclusive Dance Talent Development Contexts

“…They explained that the qualities they respected in others and hoped to possess themselves, transcended pedagogical contexts and were paramount in both traditional inclusive dance environments and talent development settings with dancers with disabilities. The artists explained that these characteristics were beliefs that informed how they worked in dance with people of all abilities and ages in all the learning contexts they were engaged in, paralleling themes in the inclusive education literature as well as wider community dance approaches (Band et al, 2011;Chua, 2015;Cheesman, 2017;Zitomer, 2017).…”

“…Vocational dance training at tertiary level tends to operate in a three-year cycle; class lengths are traditionally 90 minutes long. The structure and pace of dance education foregrounds people without disabilities, and focusses on time; yet, throughout the literature ensuring sufficient time for learning is a key feature of successful dance practice with people with disabilities (Whatley, 2007;Band et al, 2011;. Students with learning disabilities often require more time to cognitise instructions and apply feedback.…”

Artistic Impact: From Casual and Serious Leisure to Professional Career Development in Disability Arts

“…Although the arts are typically identified as a difficult employment market , this raises doubts about using 'employment' as a measure of 'project success' (Band, Lindsay, Neelands, & Freakley, 2011). However, in conjunction with personal development, providing a route to employment is an important consideration for a project's possible outcomes on AwD because of the poor participation rates in employment (ABS, 2015).…”