Creative Access Process

As dance is a movement-based art form that is usually experienced visually, traditional access to dance for visually impaired (V.I.) audiences takes the form of audio description. This functional audio add-on is a narrated commentary of the visual elements of the performance which V.I. audience members usually listen to through headphones. Traditionally, accessibility tools such as sign language & audio description are added on after the work is complete.

In our explorations of audio describing for dance, we were interested to see how embedding the access from the beginning and viewing it as an intrinsic part of the creative process would shape the work.

We have worked closely with Holly Thomas, a Visually Impaired dance artist alongside a diverse team of collaborators to delve into a process which combines dance, creative access & audio description into 4-dimensional multi-sensory approach. We have devised a method of layering physical interaction with descriptive and sensory content for visually impaired and sighted audiences to experience the action space, dynamics, and relationships of the dancers equally.

This process and the resulting learning have been encapsulated into an audio guide entitled More Than Words. We hope, once launched, this will give you a taste of the multitude of ways you can create work, which is multi-sensory, exciting, and accessible. 

We are always on the look out for dancers experienced and interested in this way of working. Please do keep in touch and connect with us on our socials! Or contact us via our contact page.