Their faces light up as the familiar tune of Michael Jackson’s They Don’t Care About Us blares from the stereo in the hall of the Fleur-de-Lys day centre.
Without any direction from her dance instructor, AnnaMaria sways to the rhythm and moves her arms to the beat, urging her peers to follow suit.
Two groups of eight disabled people from different day centres meet weekly at the Fleur-de-Lys or the Ħal Far day centre for interactive dance workshops that will culminate in a final performance in front of President George Abela in September.
“Dance is one of the tools with which we experience life and through these workshops we create a safe, comfortable space where everyone can express themselves.
Artists tend to target the public but art should be available to everyone
“Artists tend to target the public but art should be available to everyone,” says dance artist Rebecca Camilleri, 26, who is leading the workshop with Nicola Rayworth, 24.
The participants are young adults, aged 23 and up, with different disabilities.
The dance instructors explain that the disabilities are ‘shed’ outside the workshop and do not affect the dance in any way. On the contrary, the dancers adapt to the participants’ variety of abilities.
Ms Camilleri notes that music and dance seem to be opening a door for them to “let go” and, after just five weeks of workshops, the participants are more open to improvisation.
“Some were reserved, waiting to be led. Today, they are more independent and keen on leading others,” Ms Camilleri notes.
The workshops are an initiative of an NGO that supports the creative development of people with learning disabilities, Opening Doors.
It had been set up in Malta in 2008 as part of a European partnership between the UK, Malta and Belgium aimed at creating opportunities for disabled people to participate in cultural and creative activities while raising the profile of their contribution to the communities.
For the first two years, the group met partner actors in the UK and Belgium and in 2010 it settled in Malta, supported by the Malta Arts Fund and the St James Cavalier Centre for Creativity.
The NGO has been holding drama workshops with disabled people and is now branching out through dance workshops.
Ms Camilleri forms part of the multi-disciplinary artist collective based in Malta, called Rubberbodies, and has taken part in similar workshops in the community including at a Sedqa drug rehabilitation residency with the Society of Contemporary Arts.
Ms Rayworth, a collaborator of the Rubberbodies collective, has also worked with disabled people within the community in the UK, so the project was a natural transition for her.
The project, called Dance For Inclusive Arts, is being heldin collaboration with Aġenzija Sapport and is supported by the President’s Award for Creativity.
Through these dance workshops at the day centres, the two young women are seeking to convey, together with theparticipants, a sense of unity and a play with emotions, like fear and courage.
In the meantime, the workshops break the participants’ daily routine and have helped form a strong bond between all 16 dancers.
Ms Rayworth explains that, when the initial group had to be split in two groups of eight, the participants kept asking for their peers week after week, so the workshop leaders are looking forward to when the two groups come back together in September for the final performances.
One of the aims of the venture is to get the participants to integrate together and, towards the end of the project, the two groups will come together and tour day centres.