IN|FORM | Daniele Constance
An interview with Daniele Constance
Independent Artist & Director of Aha Ensemble
1. Introduce yourself!
Hi, I’m Daniele. I currently live in Yugambeh country in the southern part of the Gold Coast. I’m an artist and enjoy making works that reflect and respond to our environments, the people, plants, animals and diverse ecologies within them. I love working with sound, imagery, story and movement.
I’m involved in an arts collective, Aha Ensemble, which is a group of artists who identify with and without disability. We’re a raucous bunch who like a bit of chaos, but also have a great appreciation for slowness and gentleness.
2. What does access & inclusion in dance mean to you?
Access and inclusion can mean many things to different people and in different contexts. The way I try to think about it is as an action. It is a constant act or action of including others. It’s about identifying and considering the needs of others, ensuring people are welcome and have what they need to engage and participate.
I think it’s the same principles applied in any art form, any industry and across different levels of engagement. We can consider access and inclusion for audiences, artists, teachers, students, parents, colleagues, but ultimately, it’s the same principles and values that need to be applied, whether it’s dance or another artform.
3. How do you consider access & inclusion in your practice?
I try to consider it as much as possible as early as possible within any process. If I’m not directly working with artists and collaborators who identify with disability, it doesn’t matter. I still need to be thinking about how an audience may experience a work, how participants may experience a workshop and how a collaborator may feel when working together. For me, it’s a constant process of checking in, reflecting, adjusting and accommodating. I definitely don’t always get it right and I have made plenty of mistakes. I believe the most important parts in considering access and inclusion is the ability to be flexible, to listen and to learn. I think it’s about the attitude and values you embody.
I think it’s also important to acknowledge it’s very difficult to make works that are inclusive for everyone. There is scarce resourcing for artists and venues, and culturally we have a long way to go. I believe the more we take action (big and small) and ask ourselves (and each other) tough questions, the more the industry will step up and change (I hope!).
I think it’s really important to consider access for your participants/audience and I always like to ask the question when working in a new space, who or what is missing? I often find it’s quite revealing. Perhaps I notice that there are no ramps in the building, or the rehearsal space is only accessed via stairs. Perhaps it is a really welcoming space where staff greet you or there are signs in multiple languages. I also consider how my work can be a sensory experience and I think this naturally leads into considerations of different communication modalities.
There are really simple steps we can all take to providing better access and inclusion and there are a bunch of really great resources available. Start with including access information on your website for your next dance class, workshop or performance. Think about it. Act on it.
4. What is your perception of access & inclusion in the dance sector in Australia?
I think dance can be quite an exclusive art form (like all art forms, let’s be honest). Ironically, I think it’s something we can all access or something we all can do in our way, but from my experience the sector can have a narrow view or scope as to what “dance” is or can be.
For me, dance is an expression. It’s movement, it’s using our bodies to tell a story, that is something we can all do - it’s just whether or not that is accepted within the dance sector. Frustratingly, often it is not accepted by the sector, which means those artists or groups do not have access to equal opportunities. For example, mainstream dance education in Australia is still very exclusive. If you require a different mode of communication or additional support in order to access training or education, often it’s considered to be too hard, outside the scope of delivery, or you need to provide those adaptations yourself (at your own cost).
I would love to see major institutions change the way they deliver training and education - specifically at a professional level. If we only provide community access (or no access), then it’s extremely difficult for emerging artists to find pathways to a professional career.
Having had my little rant, I would like to acknowledge we are seeing change, albeit slowly. And there are some incredible companies and artists employing more inclusive practices with artistic rigour (i.e. Rawcus, Restless Dance) and artists with disability taking charge (i.e. Anna Seymour, Dan Daw). If you don’t know them, look them up!
5. Has COVID-19 influenced or changed the way you approach access & inclusion?
Yes and no. For me, the key principles are still the same, but the platforms have extended. In some ways the movement to online platforms has created more accessibility for more people, however, it has also highlighted how incredibly difficult it is to cater for everyone. We are complex and diverse; we need different things at different times. Sometimes they don’t match up! In some ways, video platforms provide more access for some people - but really exclude others. Of course, there are considerations of access to technology, software, stable internet, space (what if the local library is where you access a computer and internet and it was closed?). It’s also got to be said, online is not the same as in person.
I think what it has done is illuminate the gross inequalities in our societies. We all have so much to learn and I hope from here we can improve the way we engage and value one another.
6. What now? Where is your focus?
Sheesh, 2020 has been a time! I have multiple projects on the go, which is very exciting, but also proving to be quite the schedule Tetris! I am really chuffed to be a resident artist at La Boite, with Aha Ensemble and Phluxus2 Dance Collective as we develop a new dance-theatre work, YOKE. I’ve been working in support of Ruby Donohoe’s new work, JERK, Ashleigh Musk and Michael Smith’s Fertile Ground and cooking up some water sounds with Matt Cornell for a new project as part of SITUATE / Generate GC to be presented on the Gold Coast next year.
I’m also enrolling in beginners Auslan and taking on some training in audio description later this year, which I’m really looking forward to. A good balance of making, creating and learning.