We Dance, We Connect

Partners: Anjali Dance Company (Derby, England) and com.dance (Horben, Baden-Württemberg)

Image © We Dance, We Connect. Markus Pattern

"Anjali Dance Company and com.dance e.V. are excited to co-create a dance/mixed-art piece together on the theme of (non-verbal) communication. Shaped by community consultation, outreach, and workshops, the project builds on our practice, early choreography, and a shared movement language developed in TIER 1. TIER 2 will culminate in performances and participation workshops across the UK, Germany, and online. We will collaborate with live musicians from the Shout at Cancer choir, based in London, to create a soundscape for the piece. Informed by our partnership, dancers with lived experience, and engagement with audiences and industry peers, we will also expand the international inclusive dance network initiated in TIER 1."

Anjali Dance Company and com.dance

We Dance, We Connect is a Tier Two partnership previously funded by Cultural Bridge. Find out more about the Tier One partnership.

About the partners

ANJALI DANCE COMPANY is a small yet ambitious charity celebrating the extraordinary creative potential of people with learning disabilities. We uplift individuals as creative artists, supporting them to demonstrate their talents, develop their professional skills and, by doing so, transform the landscape of the arts industry to be more accessible and open to innovative ways of including a wider range of people within its eco-system.

Established in 1995, Anjali has become a leading force within dance and disability, utilising its expertise in these areas to create positive change within an often-marginalised area of arts and wider society. Alongside a successful education and outreach programme, the Anjali company creates and performs high-quality, original work, in collaboration with renowned, world-class choreographers.

We are committed to challenging preconceptions about disability; actively contributing to social cohesion by advocating for greater inclusivity and accessibility within all areas of society and supporting the people we work with to overcome barriers so that they can transform the current disability narrative to one that celebrates difference and creates a positive impact in the way society works.

COM.DANCE E.V. Since 2018, in collaboration with partners from the arts, culture & social institutions, com.dance e.V. created 6 contemporary mixedabled dance projects as part of 2 concepts: "Menschen & Wir!" (2020-2022) & sustainABILITY (2022-2025). Since 2020, com.dance e.V. offers regular contemporary mixedabled dance training and intensive training for dancers with/without intellectual disabilities.

September 2024, the “Summer dance floor” was repeated in collaboration with Caritas workshops in Freiburg and surroundings. As part of the University of Hamburg's "In the name of freedom" initiative, a freedom workshop on the topic of freedom and diversity took place on October 5th, 2024 in Südufer Freiburg. Participants experienced creative processes in a variety of artistic forms.

Rehearsals for the current dance piece "Yaku Samay" - Breath of Water began September 23rd, 2024. The piece will premiere February 6th, 2025 in E-Werk Freiburg Saal. In the piece, 21 dancers with and without disabilities and of different ages dance and deal with the connection between water and the body and the meaning of the element of water and people and the world.