Come dance with me?

Did you know that Wheelchair Dance Sport is already happening in Australia ?

Wheelchair Dance Sport is a Paralympic recognised sport for people with a physical impairment that affects the lower limbs. BUT if you are just looking to have FUN, check out how these people are doing it. Maybe, just maybe one of these might suite you...

This dancer, Chelsie Hill doesn't let anything get in the way of her passion for dance — not even the traumatic car accident that left her paralysed from the waist down. After a spinal cord injury,  Chelsie worked hard to learn how to spin and roll gracefully. To connect with other wheelchair dancers like herself, she founded the Rollettes, a team of seven gals who dance together and also offer workshops and classes for other people in wheelchairs. Chelsie recently performed this duet and said "I hope this video shows that dance is dance and dance doesn't see disability."

For something a bit more out there...

If you are the competitive type and you want to get a taste of what competing might be like, check-out Maksim Sedakov break dancing at 2009 Wheelchair Dance Sport comp Hong Kong:

IMPORTANT FACTS TO CONSIDER WHEN COMPETING

If you are interested in competing here are some important facts to consider:

• Wheelchair Dance Sport is competed internationally with World Championships and Asian Championships held every two years.
• Wheelchair Dance Sport involves athletes with a physical impairment that affects the lower limbs.
• Participants can compete as singles, duos or  (two wheelchair users) or combi (wheelchair user with able bodied partner) in competitive ballroom dancing in styles such as Standard, Latin and Freestyle.
• Group dance involves wheelchair users only or together with able-bodied partners whereas single dance sees a wheelchair user dance alone.
• Dancers compete in either Standard Ballroom dances (Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Slow Foxtrot and Quickstep) or Latin American dances (Samba, Cha-Cha-Cha, Rumba, Paso Doble and Jive). Recently, Freestyle and Show Dances have also been included (Folk, Hip Hop, Standard, Ballet, Street, Salsa, Argentine Tango, Cumbia, Belly Dance etc.)     
• The sport is governed by the IPC and co-ordinated by the IPC Wheelchair Dance Sport Technical Committee. The Technical Committee incorporates rules from the World Dance Sport Federation (WDSF). The IPC Wheelchair Dance World Championships are held every two years and were last staged in 2015 in Rome, Italy.
• Any wheelchair can be used for wheelchair dancing although lighter, more agile wheelchairs make turning a lot easier. Specialised dancing wheelchairs are available from local manufacturers and overseas.(See details below)
• Dancers compete on a dance floor that is a minimum of 250 square meters and have the option of using electric wheelchairs. 

Here is a little Latin Cha Cha Duo from Daria Alforova and the Ukrainian National Wheelchair Dance Sport Team:

In Australia, Disability Sports Australia is the peak body to co-ordinate the competitive sports and they are currently seeking expressions of interest for people to get involved.  Disability Sports Australia website has some very useful information including the basic rules, who can compete and classification. More locally in Queensland, the Sporting Wheelies & Disabled Association offer wheelchair dancing in Brisbane and Mackay and their website also has a very useful factsheet about the sport. 

CONNECTING ON MYCARESPACE

To connect with any of these organisations type in "Wheelchair dancing'' in the key word search of the mycarespace browser at http://www.mycarespace.com.au

SPECIALISED DANCING WHEELCHAIR

If you want to take this all one step further -  you may  want to check out this amazing wheelchair, developed in the US by a Florida-based choreographer named Merry Lynn Morris who has invented a power chair with dancers in mind. This is a chair tailored for artistic expression. The device is streamlined with no wheels in sight, its omnidirectional and its “smart.” To command the device, a user straps on a portable, wireless control—in this case, a cell phone—to a mobile part of her body, say the head or the upper back. When she leans in a desired direction, the phone detects the movement and instructs the chair to follow suit. check out this interview with the choreographer:

So why not come dance with me...?