Whatley (2007)
What were the 5 viewing strategies Whatley observed during the project?
Passive Oppressive, Passive Conservative, Post Passive, Active Witness, Immersion
True or False: Somatic practices help people living with chronic pain by encouraging gentle movement and body awareness rather than pushing through pain
True
True or False: There are not enough qualified disabled dancers to be included in professional performances.
False. The article explains that there are many qualified disabled dancers, but they are often overlooked because of bias and lack of opportunity
In Whatley's 'toolbox' of strategies to create a more adaptive and inclusive dance environment, what were the three categories of strategies?
Role of the LSA, class structure, class content/teaching methods
What are the three main types of body awareness that somatic practices focus on?
Interoception (internal sensations), Exteroception (external environment), and Proprioception (body position in space)
What is the reason why disabled dancers are often left out of performances?
Bias and discomfort
Dance culture has seen a shift in acceptance towards disabled dancers, but why was this not sufficient? What did Whatley find this unsatisfactory, leading to the project at Coventry University?
Beacuse despite a more accepting shift in acceptance towards disabled dancers on stage, in formal dance classes, the pedagogy of dace was not supportive of diverse bodies, and simply giving disabled bodies access to classes was not inclusive enough
What is interoception in the context of somatic practices?
It’s the awareness of what’s happening inside your body, like your breathing, heartbeat, or tension
What does authentic representation mean for disabled dancers and leaders?
Giving them leadership, involvement, and creative control instead of only putting them on stage.
Why did Whatley choose to conduct her study in a formal dance technique class?
Because they are the most conventional, structures, and typically exclusive to diverse bodies. Formal technique classes emphasize precision, repetition, and bodily control - values that are historically built around the able bodied assumption of ideas
According to the authors Meehan & Carter, why might traditional pain treatments be less effective without incorporating somatic principles?
Because they often focus only on physical fixes and overlook the emotional, sensory, and body-awareness aspects of pain
According to Bronfenbrenner’s model, how could the microsystem affect disability representation in dance?
Through the relationships between teachers, choreographers, and dancers who shape inclusion in studios and training spaces