Kinetic Light's "Descent" Inspires Education at Rutgers University

The world-renowned disability arts ensemble Kinetic Light will perform “Descent” at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center Sept. 30, sponsored by the Dance Department at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts.

Kinetic Light’s work is created, designed and performed by disabled artists. The ensemble’s mission is to emphasize that disability is not a hindrance but rather a "powerful, intersectional creative force."

The Dance Department in Mason Gross has newly minted an Integrated Dance Collaboratory (IDC), "a hub of interdisciplinary research exploring dance’s unique rehabilitative potential for individuals with a wide range of physical and mental health conditions such as autism, traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, stroke, chronic pain and fibromyalgia, and mental illness and cognitive decline," explains Jason Geary, Dean, Mason Gross School of the Arts.

Jeff Friedman, professor of Dance at Mason Gross and director of the IDC says, "We have already been benefiting from Kinetic Light’s support on multiple fronts to offer accessible performances at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center. With the very substantive support of NBPAC’s staff, we hope that we can carve out a new template for future disability arts performances in the future."

Correspondent Gina Marie Rodriguez speaks with Kinetic Light Founder Alice Sheppard; Dancer, Choreographic Collaborator and Engineer Laurel Lawson; and Scenographer Michael Maag, as well as Rutger’s Jeff Friedman, and gives us a glimpse of the choreography of “Descent.” Tickets are available for purchase here.