AllPlay Dance: Enabling Access and Inclusion through Professional Development for Dance Teachers

Children with disability continue to face many barriers to community-based dance programs and their associated benefits. This article discusses the design and delivery processes of three professional development programs created by AllPlay Dance to support teachers in offering accessible and inclusive dance to children with disability and considers the effects and learnings from these programs. Program delivery involved a focus group, practical workshops, disability information and discussions, and (for the final program) follow-up sessions, with data recorded through participant surveys and video recording of sessions. Our dance studies methodology and use of dance improvisation and composition methods have been central to our research and to our approach to access and inclusion. Through our research, we aim to meet the needs of our participants (dance teachers in the community), enable dancer agency, and invite a rethinking of what dance itself is and can be.