Culture
Defying The Boundaries of Dancing: An Interview With Kitty Lunn
Since she was a child, Kitty Lunn dreamed of being a dancer. She was training for years in classical dance with some of the best dancers in the world, including Martha Graham, Agnes de Mille, Jose Limon, and Erik Bruhn. After an accident prior to her Broadway debut that caused Kitty Lunn to break her back, she continues to dance today using innovative wheelchair dance techniques, rooted in classical ballet and modern dance.
After opening the Infinity Dance Theater in 1995, “a non-traditional dance company featuring dancers with disabilities and non-disabled dancers,” Lunn continues to advocate for dancers like herself.
She has expanded the world’s perception beyond the supposed limitations of art and disability.
1) In the disabled community, there is often a lack of consensus regarding terminology, in which certain individuals prefer “person-first” labels versus “identity-first,” i.e. “disabled” vs. “with a disability.” How do you prefer to refer to yourself in terms of your body?
I prefer person-first language, and I refer to myself as a woman ‘over a certain age’ who is a dance artist with a disability.
My disability informs about everything that I do, but it’s not the primary way I define myself. I use a wheelchair, but I’m me.
I lived half of my life as a non-disabled dancer and actress, and now I bring everything that I’ve ever done – good, bad, and indifferent – to the present moment. I’m also a widow now, and that certainly informs this new phase of my life.
2) As the founder of Infinity Dance Theater, what led you to create this company? What are some of your daily responsibilities as artistic director?
After my accident, I knew that I wouldn’t be hired by a mainstream dance company, so if I wanted to work in the professional dance field, I would have to create my own company.
My responsibilities as Infinity Dance Theater’s Artistic Director include planning and teaching classes, choreographing and rehearsing the company, assisting with administrative areas like fundraising and audience development/PR, and serving on dance-related boards and task forces.
3) As a person who has performed as both a non-disabled dancer and as a paraplegic dancer with a wheelchair, how would define the emotional and physical differences between those experiences?
I’ve found that the process remains remarkably the same. The same dance principles still apply, and that’s how I teach.
Years ago, during an interview in Brussels, Belgium, I was asked what I want as a dancer with a disability. I replied,
“I want to command the same respect sitting down that I did standing up.”
When I’m in class with non-disabled dancers, we’re performing the same movement, albeit differently. It’s not that I have invented a new way of moving; rather, I’ve transposed the technique of classical and modern to work for me in my chair and on the floor (and for others in any number of contexts based on one’s disability).
I don’t like to think of it as modifying because it sounds ‘less than.’
I transpose movement as a singer will transpose a piece of music into a different key, but the ‘notes’ are still there in either case.
As a non-disabled dancer, I didn’t have to worry about accessibility issues or instructors/dancers accepting me in class. As a dancer with a disability, I had to become thick-skinned in mainstream classes where I haven’t always been welcome.
I persevere because it’s important for me to continue my training as a dancer and teacher. Hopefully, we’ll reach a time when it won’t be as hard for aspiring dancers with disabilities as it was for me.
Photo by: Sofia Negron
4) In an interview with The Brooklyn Rail, you had referenced a phrase from the famous dancer, Agnes de Mille, who said to you, “You have to learn to dance in the body you have.” Can you expand on the meaning of this quote and its personal significance to you?
This is the body I have now. I don’t define myself by my accident because that’s exactly what it was – an accident – and what I do with my life is a choice. Not only am I disabled, but I’m almost 70 and still performing and choreographing – still breaking new ground – so one has to learn to dance in the body they have at any age.
As a dancer, my body is my instrument, and I must respect that at every stage of life. As an older dancer, you have to learn to work smart as much as you work hard.
I may not have the stamina that I had 15 years ago, but I have acquired artistry that I may not have possessed 15 to 20 years ago. That comes from a lifetime of experience.
5) Do you believe the mainstream dance world should be more inclusive towards dancers with disabilities? How do you think this can be done?
Yes, that’s why I do what I do. Before more dancers with disabilities will become members of mainstream companies, a strong foundation of training is essential – as is the case for any non-disabled dancer.
This fall, Infinity has expanded its tuition-free dance classes into a year-round program for individuals using manual wheelchairs and power chairs at Manhattan’s Gibney dance center. We’re addressing the fact that for too long, dance education opportunities for individuals with disabilities have been limited typically to one-time or short-term outreach/exposure experiences, or classes that are prohibitively expensive.
Infinity is planning a June 2019 concert in collaboration with a company of non-disabled dancers, and the program will illustrate how dancers with disabilities can add a unique texture to choreography.
There are tremendous artistic possibilities in teaching and choreographing for these beautiful bodies that move perhaps a little differently.