Saturday, October 31, 2015

Barriers to dance training for young people with disabilities

This is a valuable contribution made by Natalí Correa. The following is an extract of the paper : 

Barriers to dance training for young people with disabilities

By Imogen J. Aujla 1[1] & Emma Redding[2]

Dance is a viable and enjoyable activity – and potential career – for young people with disabilities, yet they face several barriers to participation and training. The aim of this paper is to review the literature around barriers to dance training for young disabled people and to put forward practical recommendations for overcoming these challenges. The main barriers identified were aesthetic, attitudinal, training-related and logistical in nature, with further barriers related to physical access and a lack of knowledge or available information about opportunities. 

One of the key recommendations for overcoming these barriers is to build an effective network between special and mainstream schools, dance studios, youth dance groups and professional integrated dance companies in order to encourage dance participation at a range of levels and support young disabled people throughout their dance journeys.

Dance can be a challenging and rewarding activity, and a viable career for people with disabilities, but young disabled people wishing to access dance face several barriers including aesthetic,  attitudinal, training-related, logistic, and access barriers, as well as a lack of knowledge or available information about provision. 

One of the most effective means of overcoming barriers to dance training appears to be the  establishment of local and national networks in the integrated dance sector in order to build  progression routes, increase the visibility of integrated dance, signpost young people to activities and provide enrichment opportunities such as shadowing and mentoring. The more that communication is facilitated between providers, the greater the chance that young disabled people will be encouraged to engage in dance at a range of levels be it for enjoyment or talent development.


[1] 1 Division of Performing Arts and English, University of Bedfordshire, Bedford, England
*Corresponding author
[2] Dance Science, Trinity Laban, London, England

To see the full paper: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw6wwK8FaQLNMEFBdzFucDUzMFE/view?usp=sharing

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