THE Unmute Dance Company

flew the flag high for International Day of Persons with Disabilities, around the Cape Flats. They performed an art piece called “Pending Flesh”, in Brown’s Farm, Philippi, to bring awareness to people born with Albinism.

HUNDREDS of people were in awe of dance performances yesterday when a group of persons living with disabilities showcased their skills in commemoration of International Day of Disabled Persons.

Disabled and able-bodied persons part of the UNMUTE ArtsAbility Festival visited Langa, Gugulethu, Philippi and Delft.

Hundreds of people from the community gathered in single spaces to watch inspirational performances by people with hearing disabilities and albinism.

UNMUTE group member and rapper, who has albinism, Sonele Ntsundwana, said: “There’s still a lot of stigma and misconceptions about people living with disabilities. Although we do partake in normal events in society, it often still occurs that we would end up feeling as if we are being alienated in certain spaces.”

He said it was best for disabled persons to ignore the stigmas society holds in their minds.

“On a positive side, when the communities do watch our group perform, the perceptions of us also changes because people can see that disabled persons are still capable of doing normal activities,” he said.

UNMUTE artistic director Nadine McKenzie said: “The theme for the ArtsAbility festival is about bringing inclusivity in arts and within community spaces. The focus of the performances yesterday was about creating dances and showcasing acts in spaces where it isn’t usually expected to happen. Access needs to be created not only for artists living with disabilities but also for audiences to watch performances”

She said it was often found that the majority of people with disabilities come from the townships and also did not have access to attend certain performances.

“The street performances therefore promote the idea of providing a space for people with disabilities and giving them the opportunity to take over a particular space,” she said.

Choreographer and director of the dance performance, Siphnathi Mayekiso, said: “People living with disabilities truly need to feel satisfied with themselves to feel like they can live normally within society. They should not carry the expectation of people judging them. Once they have achieved this, then living among society becomes easier.”

The ArtsAbility Festival, which was presented by Cape Town’s UNMUTE Dance Company, officially ended yesterday.