Join Charlotte Darbyshire and Kimberly Harvey, Artistic Director of Candoco and Director of youth dance programme, Cando2, respectively, in kōrero with Touch Compass Artistic Direction Panel member Suzanne Cowan about how disability consciousness is changing the landscape of integrated dance throughout Europe.

Charlotte Darbyshire is the Artistic Director for Cando Dance Company, and is an independent artist with over 25 years’ experience of working in contemporary dance and specifically in somatic and inclusive practices as a performer, maker, teacher and director of two award-winning films.

Charlotte was a founder member of Candoco Dance Company, performing and teaching internationally with the company for the first 10 years and helping to lay the foundations of what Candoco is today.

Charlotte went on to develop her independent practice and research into inclusive and creative approaches to dance practice for disabled and non-disabled people. She led integrated projects and later wrote and delivered multiple training programmes in the UK, Colombia, Croatia, Bangladesh and Sweden.

She is passionate about education and for 10 years was also a Dance Lecturer on the BA Degree Programmes at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance and London Contemporary Dance School (2000 – 2011).

In the last decade she trained with Linda Hartley to become a certified Movement Therapist and Integrative Bodyworker. This has strengthened her international reputation as a movement educator and facilitator and grounds her practice as Candoco’s Artistic Director.

Kimberley Harvey is the Director of Candoco's youth dance programme, Cando2. She started dancing back in 2000 as one of the original members of Cando2, then continued her dance training through Candoco when she was accepted on to the Candoco Foundation Course in Dance for Disabled and then as an Artist Associate for London during the company's three year Moving Bodies Programme. Kimberley has had the opportunity to work with a variety of different artists and choreographers in a Candoco capacity, whilst in Cando2, and also as an independent dance artist working on different projects. As well as being a dancer and performer, Kimberley is also a freelance teacher who has worked for Trinity Laban, Greenwich Dance, Coda Dance and 3ddance, alongside her teaching work for Candoco. Teaching work with Candoco as given her the opportunity to travel both nationally and internationally, as well as being able to teach and assist on the regular youth sessions that the company run.

In 2011, Kimberley co-founded Subtle Kraft Co with friend and fellow dancer, Anna Bergström. Their first work entitled 'Cravings of Intimacy & Solitude', which they both choreographed and performed in, debuted at Resolution! 2012.

Kimberley has had many special moments in her dance career so far, but a highlight that immediately comes to mind is dancing with Candoco for the London Paralympic Closing Ceremony - an amazing, unforgettable moment!

Suzanne Cowan is one of three Touch Compass Artistic Direction Panel members, shaping the artistic future of Touch Compass.

Suzanne is an artist/choreographer/researcher and has been an associate artist with Touch Compass since 1999. Her most recent work was performed at Auckland Arts Festival in 2021 with collaborator Rodney Bell, in 'He Owha Matarua’: a site specific performance at Piha that explores ecology and colonisation. She recently completed an independent film, ’Slippage’, to be screened in 2022, building on her solo autobiographical show ‘Manifesto of A Good Cripple’ which she produced and performed at the Basement Theatre in 2019.

Suzanne's /rītaha/ performance, 'Knotty Entities', stems from her PhD research into rope and bodies as an expanded corporeality. Her PhD in Dance Studies, completed at the University of Auckland in 2018, brings a post humanist perspective to dis/abilty and performance and draws together her research into dance, disability, queer studies and feminist new materialism.

Contact the host of #a11yArts International Creative Leadership Series: Kōrero with Candoco: How disability consciousness is shifting the landscape of integrated dance