[Music]
[Applause]
when I lived in Auckland I did various
dance classes one of them was called
muscle and bone mind and body it was a
spacial class where we lined up in rows
and we went down the room in particular
movement sequences given by the
instructor
the soundtrack was the same every week
and the space was a clear flat
unobtrusive dance studio the ethos was
about not having to be perfect but to be
together to be in sync with each other
it was amazing
it was super cool but actually when I
first started I was so angry with the
setup you see I’m a partially sighted
woman and learning dance accessing a
dance class is incredibly difficult
because it’s taught so visually and I
couldn’t see the instructor so I
immediately asked questions of you know
how’s it gonna learn this and what are
you doing to include me so at the first
class the instructor told me Sara go in
the third or the fourth row and I did
but I was like okay fine but can you
please verbally describe and instructs
me so I can follow the movement now here
was intuitive and he calmly said to me
Sara you’re not listening and I got
frustrated and he said again Sara you’re
not listening
and he had this knowing energy that
commanded respects it was the most
profound moment of vulnerability that
led to insights and affirmations about
myself and the world
my original assumptions about what I
needed were challenged but being in the
third and the fourth row meant that I
was surrounded by bodies everywhere I
looked there was support I thought it
would be unsafe but actually it was the
safest place for me to be those who went
before me led the way and those beside
me supported me and knows behind me
pushed me forward but the deepest lesson
for me was that I had a role in offering
the same to them my contribution to the
space was equal and valued and at times
I found myself leading from the center
when the others in my row were tired
this was a really new and beautiful
collaborative learning experience for me
it was the first time in my life that I
felt like I had something to truly offer
my presence and my movement was seen as
value-adding and that was a real shift
this observation which is uncanny
because I’m actually very very blind it
allowed me this time then I took the
time I took quite a few years actually
and I could reflect and I could get
really clear and articulate about what I
needed in that dance class the design of
the room was such that there was no
glare in my eyes
and the bare feet on the black floor
meant that there was color contrast
which meant that I could follow the
steps of the dances the music everyone
was following the music in time which
meant that I actually knew where all the
bodies were in space and I knew that for
listening and knowing not by looking the
key thing for me was the close proximity
with everybody else and it was a really
simple structured and – intuitive and
flexible exercise my skin became my eyes
and I tapped into this kinesthetic
sphere which made me be able to follow
the flow of the movement it was really
really amazing and I found that my
contribution was possible and then I was
able to kind of you know begin to
untangle a lifetime of that blame and
punishment for my body working the way
it did and for me asking for what I
needed now if I take this analogy into
the workplace my ideal design for the
room in which I work is that there’s no
glare and that it’s quiet so that I can
actually use my screen reader on my
computer and focus on my work then those
computer systems and the accessible
digital platforms and accessible content
and audio description is like that dance
that we’re learning together and so I
hold on to the principles of universal
design what I want to see in this world
what I’d really like to see is that
people who design anything from
performances to programs
two products a learning about and
talking about who can access them and
how I want to see events where everyone
is able to attend and learn and
contribute and I want to see industry I
want to invite industry to our table and
follow our conversations about
innovation and include people with
disability as access consultants from
the very start to the very end of the
design and a development process and in
that designing for accessibility space I
need to see solutions that focus on
fixing our environments first rather
than focusing on fixing our bodily
experience of the world because while
innovation might lead to accessibility
it’s actually when we think about
accessibility and when we implement
accessibility that it always leads to
innovation and in every space not just
tech and design so this is not a new
idea but what is new is that we’ve
reached a critical mass and what really
strikes me is that we haven’t actually
always been good at celebrating those
who have gone before there are hundreds
of people from the disability community
who have deeply influenced who I am as
an advocate how I create as a performer
and what I want to see in this world
everyone from historical freakshow
performers like cuckoo the bird girl who
I do a one-woman show about
to contemporary disabled artists to
managers to lawyers to systemic
advocates with disability this is the
row of dances that’s in front of me and
I want to thank them I currently work at
the University of Technology Sydney on
accessibility policy it’s a space where
I can contribute and create change from
the centre so I and my row of dancers my
peers who know our history and our
politics we take the efforts forward and
I hope that you’re with us because when
we know what we all need then we can
lead like a wave of dancers down the
room and so I was never good at speaking
up for myself before doing that spatial
dance class I had forgotten my value and
the messages in society that I was
deviant and deficient were too strong
and so for those who come after me with
and without disability I really want to
make sure that we are all concentrating
on how we articulate what we need and
how we activate it and especially you
know if you have an access requirement
especially you and that could be someone
younger than me or it could be someone
older than me who’s acquired their
disability or someone coming to terms
with invisible disability and if that is
you welcome to the community you’re one
of us and if that’s not you yes then
believe me you’re short-sighted dodgy
need 90 year old self will thank us
thank you
[Music]
[Applause]
when I lived in Auckland I did various
dance classes one of them was called
muscle and bone mind and body it was a
spacial class where we lined up in rows
and we went down the room in particular
movement sequences given by the
instructor
the soundtrack was the same every week
and the space was a clear flat
unobtrusive dance studio the ethos was
about not having to be perfect but to be
together to be in sync with each other
it was amazing
it was super cool but actually when I
first started I was so angry with the
setup you see I’m a partially sighted
woman and learning dance accessing a
dance class is incredibly difficult
because it’s taught so visually and I
couldn’t see the instructor so I
immediately asked questions of you know
how’s it gonna learn this and what are
you doing to include me so at the first
class the instructor told me Sara go in
the third or the fourth row and I did
but I was like okay fine but can you
please verbally describe and instructs
me so I can follow the movement now here
was intuitive and he calmly said to me
Sara you’re not listening and I got
frustrated and he said again Sara you’re
not listening
and he had this knowing energy that
commanded respects it was the most
profound moment of vulnerability that
led to insights and affirmations about
myself and the world
my original assumptions about what I
needed were challenged but being in the
third and the fourth row meant that I
was surrounded by bodies everywhere I
looked there was support I thought it
would be unsafe but actually it was the
safest place for me to be those who went
before me led the way and those beside
me supported me and knows behind me
pushed me forward but the deepest lesson
for me was that I had a role in offering
the same to them my contribution to the
space was equal and valued and at times
I found myself leading from the center
when the others in my row were tired
this was a really new and beautiful
collaborative learning experience for me
it was the first time in my life that I
felt like I had something to truly offer
my presence and my movement was seen as
value-adding and that was a real shift
this observation which is uncanny
because I’m actually very very blind it
allowed me this time then I took the
time I took quite a few years actually
and I could reflect and I could get
really clear and articulate about what I
needed in that dance class the design of
the room was such that there was no
glare in my eyes
and the bare feet on the black floor
meant that there was color contrast
which meant that I could follow the
steps of the dances the music everyone
was following the music in time which
meant that I actually knew where all the
bodies were in space and I knew that for
listening and knowing not by looking the
key thing for me was the close proximity
with everybody else and it was a really
simple structured and – intuitive and
flexible exercise my skin became my eyes
and I tapped into this kinesthetic
sphere which made me be able to follow
the flow of the movement it was really
really amazing and I found that my
contribution was possible and then I was
able to kind of you know begin to
untangle a lifetime of that blame and
punishment for my body working the way
it did and for me asking for what I
needed now if I take this analogy into
the workplace my ideal design for the
room in which I work is that there’s no
glare and that it’s quiet so that I can
actually use my screen reader on my
computer and focus on my work then those
computer systems and the accessible
digital platforms and accessible content
and audio description is like that dance
that we’re learning together and so I
hold on to the principles of universal
design what I want to see in this world
what I’d really like to see is that
people who design anything from
performances to programs
two products a learning about and
talking about who can access them and
how I want to see events where everyone
is able to attend and learn and
contribute and I want to see industry I
want to invite industry to our table and
follow our conversations about
innovation and include people with
disability as access consultants from
the very start to the very end of the
design and a development process and in
that designing for accessibility space I
need to see solutions that focus on
fixing our environments first rather
than focusing on fixing our bodily
experience of the world because while
innovation might lead to accessibility
it’s actually when we think about
accessibility and when we implement
accessibility that it always leads to
innovation and in every space not just
tech and design so this is not a new
idea but what is new is that we’ve
reached a critical mass and what really
strikes me is that we haven’t actually
always been good at celebrating those
who have gone before there are hundreds
of people from the disability community
who have deeply influenced who I am as
an advocate how I create as a performer
and what I want to see in this world
everyone from historical freakshow
performers like cuckoo the bird girl who
I do a one-woman show about
to contemporary disabled artists to
managers to lawyers to systemic
advocates with disability this is the
row of dances that’s in front of me and
I want to thank them I currently work at
the University of Technology Sydney on
accessibility policy it’s a space where
I can contribute and create change from
the centre so I and my row of dancers my
peers who know our history and our
politics we take the efforts forward and
I hope that you’re with us because when
we know what we all need then we can
lead like a wave of dancers down the
room and so I was never good at speaking
up for myself before doing that spatial
dance class I had forgotten my value and
the messages in society that I was
deviant and deficient were too strong
and so for those who come after me with
and without disability I really want to
make sure that we are all concentrating
on how we articulate what we need and
how we activate it and especially you
know if you have an access requirement
especially you and that could be someone
younger than me or it could be someone
older than me who’s acquired their
disability or someone coming to terms
with invisible disability and if that is
you welcome to the community you’re one
of us and if that’s not you yes then
believe me you’re short-sighted dodgy
need 90 year old self will thank us
thank you
[Music]
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