About Us
Our work & ethos
Dance for people with PMLD
Practice in relation to dance and disability has made great strides over the past 50 or so years as notions of who dances, who makes dance and how that dance looks have been challenged and re-imagined.
Less well explored, documented and articulated is movement practice with and for people with PMLD. Inquiry in this field opens a myriad of questions concerning inclusion, access and ownership in relation to methodologies, policy and practice.
We believe that everyone can dance and be creative - and we look at our work with PMLD through an artistic lens. As experienced artists, we offer opportunities for people with PMLD to be part of a creative dance experience – if they want. We co-create dance with people with PMLD in the moment or/and for sharing with others. Most importantly, we enjoy noticing, developing, framing and celebrating the dances of people with PMLD – no matter how small they may seem.
Our work draws upon this and responds to a number of needs identified by people with PMLD, as well as dance artists and support workers for a different model of working - an approach whereby an individual with PMLD can engage in a dance experience that is personal, meets their unique needs and creates an opportunity for their creative voice to be heard, amplified and shared.
Our approach enables individuals with complex needs to be able to engage in a dance experience that is personal to them, meets their unique needs and creates an opportunity for their creative voice to be nurtured.
Jane McLean
PMLD Network Group
Inquiring Artists
We are Jane McLean (Cheshire Dance) and Ruth Spencer (UClan Dance) - artists and practitioners working in community settings and education with person-centred approaches at the heart of our practice. We work from a principle of ‘nothing about us without us’; our research is founded upon a commitment to involve people with PMLD in decisions about their continuing engagement with dance, providing opportunities for their likes, dislikes and preferences to be heard and impacted on dance practice.
We facilitate the Dance and PLMD Network Group which comes together biannually to explore fundamental questions around practice with dancing partners with profound and multiple disabilities in response to a call from community-based dance artists for more support, training and dialogue around dance practice in the context of PIMD. Since 2018 we have grown this network from 5 artists in the north of England to 25 members across the country.
We are currently working on the Wanna Dance? project with Vivo Care Choices, developing dance opportunities for adults with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities. They also host a network group of dance artists specifically interested in developing their skills and knowledge in working with and for people with complex needs.
Artist working with PMLD?
Find out more about The PMLD Network Group and consider joining future meetings to ensure people with profound disabilities have high quality access to dance experiences.
Creative Director at Cheshire Dance
Jane McLean
Jane McLean is Creative Director of Cheshire Dance and a practising dance artist. Jane is passionate about inspiring people from all walks of life to create, learn and experience dance. She enjoys working collaboratively with other artists and organisations to enable the development of innovative dance practices across Cheshire and beyond. Jane’s enquiries into anatomy, performance presence, attention to sensation, use of energy and focus support all of her work. Jane uses improvisation to explore, connect and create dances with people of all ages and abilities.
Independent Dance Artist and Lecturer at UCLAN
Ruth Spencer
Ruth Spencer is an independent dance artist and part-time university lecturer. Ruth's work developed over 30 years is deeply rooted in dance in education and community settings. As an educator, trainer, performer, project manager and artistic director, working in partnership with organisations across the UK and abroad, Ruth is committed to the potential of physical creativity as a means of expression for all. Through a person-centred approach Ruth works to debunk myths that surround dance and creative practice and create opportunities for everyone to dance whatever their age, gender or need.
OUR PARTNERS
