Inclusive dance collective reaches for the stars

Posted on 1 June, 2022

Helping young dancers take the next step in their professional journey, Canberra’s first inclusive dance collective is reaching for the stars in their latest performance.

Named after the constellation and the reptile (inspired by its constant yet adaptable nature), The Chameleon Collective is a new dance group from The Stellar Company.

Launched in 2020 and born from the vision that all artists should have equal access and employment opportunities in dance, the boutique offering is a collective of talented locals who often miss out on the spotlight.

With 70% of The Chameleon Collective participants living with disability, chronic illness, and/or PTSD, the program is designed to act as a pathway—and a helping hand—allowing the emerging artists to enjoy dance in a fully inclusive environment.

According to founder Liz Lea, it’s “about time” Canberra has a professional dance company that explores inclusive approaches to creating new dance movements and music.

“There’s a lot of really strong and very large community dance groups here in Canberra. And dance in Canberra is very strong,” says Liz.

“But there are fewer professional development opportunities for dancers who’ve been dancing for a really long time, particularly if they are living with a disability. There are not that many opportunities for young people to have professional development…for something that is specifically going to be mindful of the differing needs of the participants.”

“We wanted to provide that opportunity.”

Designed to provide professional mentoring and artistic pathways for young, emerging performing artists living with disability (as well as for those who don’t), the classes draw out the individual and collective strengths of the dancers while helping them work to a professional standard.

Showcasing their hard work, they will be performing this year at Canberra College, premiering a season of dance and technology.

Exploring space, and the power of dance in partnership with ASTRO 3D and Recovery VR, the 2022 performance will feature special 3D visualisations of the universe and 360-degree films, inspired by the Chameleon Collective’s namesake.

“It’s the notion of it always being up in the stars, being of a stellar quality but also connecting in with a reptile and just being adaptable, which as humans, we all need to be,” explains Liz.

“People who live with disability have to be that much more adaptable because there are so many elements of wider society that are not accessible for them. It’s about how to work in and around a lot of environments that may well be inaccessible or less than accessible.”

With a series of live performances and short films (including one featuring a young dancer called Megan who lives with Down Syndrome, and famous flamenco dancer Antonio Vargas), Liz says she wants all performances to be connected to scientific research to show dance can be fun, accessible and at the leading edge of contemporary performance.

And while she hopes the program will help with future employment, further engagement, and networking opportunities, Liz is predominantly looking forward to seeing The Chameleon Collective have fun on stage.

“I really hope that parents are excited and proud,” she says. “I’d love them to be surprised at what we’re doing because their parents and carers are the ones who facilitate and assist in making it possible.”

“And I’d love audiences to embrace the notion of what we’re doing, the notion of what we’re creating here, the notion of Canberra having an inclusive dance company. I think it’s incredibly important.”

Feature image: Andrew Sikorski