People with disabilities in spotlight

PEOPLE living with disabilities are receiving attention at this time, with the Artscape Theatre having launched a special show that celebrates their lives.

Unmute Dance Company, in association with Artscape, presented Imbizo on Friday as part of celebrating the International Week for Persons with Disabilities.

The show was part of the Unmute ArtsAbility Festival, a week-long event of activities during the International Week for Persons with Disabilities that ran from November 28 to December 3.

The festival presented live performances, exhibitions, site-specific shows and outdoor performances that took place in Langa.

Artists used the arts to transform public and private spaces and made them accessible for people to start dialogues around disability and integration, while celebrating the the unrecognised abilities that people with disabilities possess.

Imbizo, directed by Themba Mbuli and choreographed by Andile Vellem, Nadine McKenzie, Yaseen Manuel and Rae Classen, also presented a display of collaborative artistic works by disabled artists (ranging from wheelchair-bound to deaf), as well as able-bodied artists from mixed genres, to create artistic works that interrogate, integrate and celebrate people’s different abilities.

The performances featured the Isibonelo Dance Project, Lingua Franca, Muziek Sensation, Unmute Dance Company, Jika Madinga, and the Filia School for Special Needs and Light of Life.

The show, which was themed as “accessibility”, was intended to start dialogues on inclusion and open a platform for society to engage on issues around disability and integration.

It challenged artists, musicians, dancers, actors and puppeteers to collaborate and create inclusive works of art with mixed abled and disabled performers and challenge people’s misconceptions about disability while focusing on ability rather than disability.