Abstract
This chapter stems from a conversation between David Bower, Caroline Bowditch and me, which took place within the context of a symposium on the politics of collaboration at Middlesex University on 18 May 2013. The conversation was followed, months later, by a brief email exchange, in which further questions were asked, ideas developed and positions clarified. As such, it is itself a collaborative effort—my part being, in a sense, curatorial, trying to collate and provide an academic framework within which the observations of these practitioners can be seen. Born in Australia, but now Glasgow-based, performance artist and choreographer Caroline Bowditch describes herself as a performer, maker, teacher, speaker and a mosquito, buzzing in the ears of the arts industry in the UK and further afield. David Bower is a Deaf performer and Artistic Director of SignDance Collective (SDC), where he works alongside Dance Director Isolte Avila, who created the art form of ‘signdance theatre’.1 His philosophy pertaining to Deaf and disability identity holds that action speaks louder than words; his determination to pursue a career in the arts was driven, among other things, as an act of defiance against discrimination. Each of them has a long history not only of collaboration, but also leadership in the arts.
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© 2016 Pedro de Senna, with Caroline Bowditch and David Bower
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de Senna, P., Bowditch, C., Bower, D. (2016). ‘Nothing About Us Without Us’: Collaborations between Disabled and Non-Disabled Practitioners. In: Colin, N., Sachsenmaier, S. (eds) Collaboration in Performance Practice. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137462466_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137462466_12
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