Dancing From the Inside Out
By Thais Mazur & Sarah Shockley

Bonnie Lewkowicz was a dancer for ten years before a major car accident left her paralyzed from the neck down. Uli Schmitz lost the use of his legs after a bout with polio at age three. Judith Smith was a championship equestrian before injuring her spinal cord in an auto accident. All three now dance professionally with the acclaimed AXIS Dance Troupe, which includes both disabled and non-disabled dancers.

This eloquent video looks at the lives and work of each of these talented dancers. They discuss the process they went through in adapting to their disabilities, and how they came to rediscover physical expression through dance. Interwoven with this discussion are scenes from their daily lives, rehearsals, and a full-scale performance by the troupe. Dancing from the Inside Out provides positive role models for people with disabilities, while exposing any audience to new ideas about beauty, creativity, movement and grace.

28 minutes
© 1994
Purchase $199 VHS / Purchase $199 DVD
Order No. QA-152
ISBN (VHS) 1-57295-152-4
ISBN (DVD) 1-57295-879-0

Reviews
"Exuberant! Lends perspective to the unlimited potential in people of differing abilities." Booklist

Awards & Conference Screenings
Gold Plaque, Chicago International Film Festival
Council on Foundations, Film & Video Festival
American Psychological Association Screening
Silver Apple, National Educational Media Network
Silver Award, Dancing On Camera Festival
First Place, Berkeley Video Festival
Women in the Director's Chair Festival
American Association Spinal Injury Nurses
Atlanta Film & Video Festival
National Social Science Association
Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival
TASH Media Awards
Superfest

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We Are PHAMALY: Follows cast members of a musical theater group for people with sensory and mobility disabilities, from auditions to their remarkable opening night performance of Once Upon a Mattress.

Acting Blind: Takes audiences behind the scenes as a company of non-professional actors rehearse a play about life without sight. The performers have no problem imagining themselves in these roles: they are blind themselves.

Able to Laugh: An amusing and informative glimpse into the world of disability, as interpreted by six professional comics who have a variety of disabilities.

Vital Signs: An edgy, raw documentary exploring the politics of disability through performances at a national conference on disability and the arts. Open-Captioned. Contains strong language and nudity.

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