Inclusive Recreation
Why is “play” just the purview of children? Who says that all of the wonderful benefits that the action of playing provides the kiddos—like promoting social interaction, creativity, problem solving, self-esteem, positivity, relationship building and so on—aren’t just as important for adults? Frivolity, enjoyment and escape are as vital as they are easy to dismiss.
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Create Mock Stain Glass at Abilities Expo Chicago
By Mike Ervin, Abilities Expo Ambassador Samantha Feigenbaum specializes in what she calls “make and take” art projects. You make it and then you take it home. She also refers to it as recycled art since she incorporates into the artwork something that has been discarded and is not intended to be an art material.…
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Raw Beauty Project: Creating Visibility for Disability in Fashion and Society
By Margarita Elizondo, Host of Wheel Talk Wheel Issues and Abilities Expo Ambassador Designers hire models that fit “their look” and that look often looks like something you can hang on a hanger or put on a standing manikin; it does not include wheels. Filmmakers hire actors that fit “their role” and if the role includes disability,…
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Catch THE REBOUND!
By Michael Esposito, Filmmaker THE REBOUND is an award-winning documentary film that follows the underdog journey of the Miami Heat Wheels, a wheelchair basketball team, in their quest for a national title. Three adaptive athletes rally their team to victory while confronting obstacles on and off the court. The story is a real and visceral portrait…
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Get Your Groove On!
Google “dance quotes” and you’ll get everything from poetic to cliché to biblical. So…to sum up…dance like no one is watching because there is a time to mourn and a time to dance, which is the hidden language of the soul. Hmmm, perhaps not. Abilities Expo fan favorite and Push Girl Auti Angel says, “Dancing is a…
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Dance with the Rollettes in Houston and Los Angeles
By Chelsie Hill, The Rollettes It all started with our very first Dance Intensive in October of 2012. At the time, I was determined to put on a dance showcase for the disability community, but what emerged was so much more. Our Rollettes team came together because of our shared love of dance and, through our…
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Donna On The Go Up for an Emmy
It began as an idea. And now it’s on its way to an Emmy. “It” is a new show called Donna On The Go created by Peggy Lane about her friend Donna Russo. It is unique, charming and viewers worldwide are falling in love with it. In a world of copycat ideas, cop programs and behind-the-scene productions…
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Donna On The Go: Two Women, an iPhone and a Walker
Abilities Expo Ambassador Donna Russo met Peggy Lane almost two years ago and they became lifelong friends. After seeing how hard even the simplest things can be for Donna—just getting her mail, or getting to her car—Peggy decided to film some things. Once while at Target, the two women shopped and they couldn’t stop laughing.…
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What is Your Passion for Dance?
By Amy Meisner-Threet, SAG-AFTRA, MSW To dance or not to dance? That is not even a consideration for many despite what may appear to others to be obvious obstacles. By creating the full length documentary film A Passion for Dance, Dancer Donna Russo and Choreographer Tam Warner are determined to change the conversation about what it means…
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They KNOW They Can Dance!
By Bonnie Lewkowicz, AXIS Dance Company and Abilities Expo Ambassador Axis Dance Company. Joel Brown and Sebastian Grubb.Photo by Michele Kumi-Baer AXIS Dance Company, based in Oakland, California, creates, performs, and teaches “physically integrated dance”—a contemporary dance form that evolves from the collaboration between dancers with and without disabilities. In existence for 25 years, we…
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25 Years Later, and NO ONE puts AXIS Dance Company in a Corner!
By Liam Passmore, Shave and a Haircut In 1987 when the Bay Area’s own AXIS Dance Company first performed, gas was 89 cents per gallon, The Simpsons debuted on FOX, and Prozac had only just become available to a country flocking to see a movie called Dirty Dancing, which spawned the catchphrase, “No one puts…
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The Power of Zumba
Corina Gutierrez was fed up with getting sick and feeling weak. Then, she heard about Zumba. A local instructor welcomed Corina and her power wheelchair to attend a class and it changed everything. “At the end of the class, I was hooked,” recalls Corina. “This is for me. Zumba had my name on it!” After…
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Dancers with Disabilities Featured in New Documentary
A new documentary that showcases the amazing accomplishments of dancers with disabilities will delve into their individual, hard-fought journeys in A Passion for Dance. The film is a story of courage, passion and love that will embolden those with disabilities and simultaneously educate those that do not. The Abilities Expo team is making this movie to…