Leadership and Agency through Dance

Leadership and agency through Dance

Over 25 years Jolt has built a community of dancers with intellectual disabilities, their whānau, wider disability groups and mainstream organisations. Our work focuses on the individuality of the dancer, rather than their diagnosis. We believe dance has the potential to empower, create equitable spaces, and challenge deficit perspectives about disability. This presentation will share our journey, what we have learnt, and the pathways we have created to embed agency and leadership.

Presenters

Jacob Levington
Kaitiaki Whaikaha, Jolt tutor
Caitlin Fleming
Disability Leader
Lyn Cotton
Founder and Artistic Director of Jolt

Biographies

Jacob Levington is an experienced dancer and teacher in Jolt. He is a member of Jolt Performance Company, he is in charge of his own Jolt classes and is a member of the Kaitiaki Whaikaha team in charge of funding. He has taught and performed nationally and internationally in Glasgow, Rarotonga, and South Korea.

Caitlin Fleming works as an assistant in Jolt Collective, Drop in and Jolt zoom classes. She has danced with Jolt for 12 years and performed in professional theatres. Caitlin is a member of the Jolt Leadership team.

Lyn Cotton is the founder and Artistic Director of Jolt. Originally trained as a teacher, Lyn became involved in inclusive dance in London and trained with Wolfgang Stange (Amici dance). In 2001 Lyn established Jolt which has grown to become the largest inclusive dance company in Aotearoa. As Artistic Director, Lyn has built Jolt into a ground-breaking and fearlessly innovative dance company, pioneering initiatives such as Jolt Interactive, performances designed specifically for diverse audiences, and Move, New Zealand’s only dance teacher training programme for people with disabilities.
In 2014 Lyn won the Attitude TV Award for “Making a Difference” and in 2016 she received a Winston Churchill Fellowship.

Theme: Performing Arts
Audience: All welcome