On a black background, round-edged squares in varying sizes display icons and images in a collage. Arranged around the image in a neat grid, there are four photos of dance artists from the UK and from Italy. The photos sit alongside smaller graphic icons showing the maps of Italy and the UK, outlines of disabled people and dancers, and a megaphone, these graphics are coloured white, bright blue or black.
Share and learn together about best practice in international dance and disability
Join us for a series of webinars and artist residencies to open up dialogue about dance and disability between artists, producers and venues based in England and Italy.
Curated by Stopgap Dance Company and commissioned by Arts Council England, the Italian Ministry of Culture (The Performing Arts department), the Italian Cultural Institute of London and the British Council, the ‘Open Dialogo’ series promotes a bilateral cultural exchange through sharing of knowledge and experiences between disabled and non-disabled artists and influencers working in England and Italy.
The webinars will introduce dance and disability in the English and Italian scenes, and deepen understanding of accessibility issues whilst exploring how dance as a sector can become more inclusive of disabled people as artists, leaders, and audiences.
Accessed via Zoom, the webinars will be delivered with English and Italian simultaneous interpretation, English and Italian captioning, and BSL and Italian Sign Language.
The webinars will be followed by a series of in-person residencies taking place in England and Italy in the Autumn. More information about these residencies can be found at the bottom of this page.
The themes for the residencies will centre around the points of conversation in the webinar, so individuals and organisations interested in being a part of the residencies will need to have participated in the webinar series.
Join the discussion...
Dance Landscapes in Italy and England
10th May, 5-6pm UK / 6-7pm Italy
Learn how work is funded, made, and shared in both England and Italy, and what this means in terms of inclusive practice.
Chaired by Jo Verrent (Unlimited), with panellists Laura Jones (Stopgap), Jo Royce (Arts Council England), Aristide Rontini (Independent Artist) and Donatella Ferrante (Consultant - Performing Arts Dpt, Ministry of Culture, Italy)
Find out more
Rigour and Inclusion - developing disabled dance artists
17th May, 5-6pm UK / 6-7pm Italy
Discover training and development opportunities for disabled dance artists as we discuss examples from TIN Arts, Stopgap Dance Company and the journey Aristide took as a disabled dance artist in Italy. This webinar will draw on lived experiences to identify barriers to progression.
Chaired by Suzie Birchwood (Independent Artist), with panellists Laura Jones (Stopgap), Aristide Rontini (Independent Artist) and Martin Wilson (TIN Arts)
Find out more
Creative Access for Dance Audiences
7th June, 5-6pm UK / 6-7pm Italy
Discover the imaginative ways in which inclusive artists have made their work accessible to disabled audiences. The webinar will also demonstrate how creative access can open a new creative frontier.
Chaired by Dalila D’Amico (Researcher), with panellists Camilla Guarino (Independent Artist), Giuseppe Comuniello (Independent Artist), Diana Anselmo (Independent Artist), Lucy Bennett and Lily Norton (Stopgap)
Find out more and book
Disabled leadership
14th June, 5-6pm UK / 6-7pm Italy
Join our panel of disabled leaders to discuss why it matters to have disabled people in leadership positions and how we can support the next generation of leaders.
Chaired by Stefania Di Paolo (Researcher), with panellists DJ Hassan and Sarah Archdeacon (Corali), Laura Jones (Stopgap), Aristide Rontini (Independent Artist) and Marina Cuollo (Independent Journalist)
Find out more and bookTo learn more about accessing these sessions via Zoom and information about accessibility for these events, please follow the links below.
Open Dialogo: Artist Residencies
These in-person residencies follow on from the webinar series to enable Italian and English dance practitioners, producers and venues to explore disability and inclusion further and deepen their understanding through cross-cultural collaboration.
We are hereby inviting applications for the artist residencies from individuals, companies and organisations. There are a total of four commissions to be assigned with two awards going to each country.
White text on black, a title reads 'Open Dialogo', and the two 'o' letters of the second word form speech bubbles. Below a subtitle reads 'A bilateral cultural exchange project for dance and disability in Italy and England'. Below that are five logos: Stopgap Dance Company, Arts Council England, Italian Ministry of Culture, Italian Cultural Institute of London and the British Council.