Embraced Body Reveals HOW WE MOVE Cohort Two Dancers for Disability Arts Intensive
The in-person intensive will include somatic/movement/dance and access workshops; each participant will have an opportunity to lead a workshop.
Embraced Body, the Disability Justice and inclusive arts organization founded by artist and Disability Justice consultant India Harville, has revealed the participants for Cohort Two of its How We Move program. Funded by the Mellon Foundation, How We Move is a dance intensive created for and by multiply marginalized D/deaf and Disabled artists; the program centers agency, multiplicity, interdependence, and creative power. The artists of Cohort Two are: Ariana Martinez (The Bronx, NY), Miwa Nagura McCormick (New York, NY), Uhuru Moor (Los Angeles. CA/New Orleans, LA/New York, NY), Davian DJ Robinson (Charlotte, NC), Taja Will (Minneapolis, MN/Mni Sota Makoce), and foster weems (Philadelphia, PA).
"In our first year of How We Move, we witnessed what becomes possible when multiply marginalized Disabled artists gather in a space built with collective access at its core. The artists in our inaugural cohort came together across multiple disabilities and identities, and many spoke about the profound impact of being in a space where they were no longer the 'only' Disabled, QTBIPOC dancer in the room. Care became choreography, difference became generative, and artists were able to explore their practices in community, demonstrating how access itself can become an artistic practice,"shares India Harville, Embraced Body Founder & Executive Director.
Harville continues, "The How We Move level of care and access offers a living template for the kinds of artistic spaces participants want to build in their own communities. In Cohort Two, we are deepening this work-cultivating cross-disability solidarity and expanding a community of Disabled dance artists shaping the future of the field together."
The How We Move Program centers D/deaf and Disabled, multiply marginalized (BIPOC, LGBTQIA+) dancers. In its second cohort, the program welcomes six artists and includes four virtual gatherings, followed by a 10-day in-person intensive in New York City, and culminating in a final virtual gathering. This hybrid gathering format intends to provide multiple access points to Disabled dance artists wishing to build and expand cross-disability community.
How We Move will shift the timeline of its Cohort Two program, with the in-person residency now scheduled for Summer 2027. The adjustment reflects the organization's commitment to disability culture, access, and care in response to evolving health, caregiving needs, and family loss within the team.
The in-person intensive will include somatic/movement/dance workshops; each participant will have an opportunity to lead a workshop and will receive support to ensure their workshop is accessible for all attendees. The intensive will also include space to build power together towards a transformation of the colonial, eugenicist, and ableist lineages still present in the dance field. This intensive will provide a rigorous access framework, allowing cross-disability artists from across the country the opportunity to come together, create, learn from one another, and cultivate opportunities. Participants receive a $2,000 stipend and the program will cover access, travel, housing, and food costs for the June in-person intensive. Funding is also available for Personal Care Attendants.
The inaugural How We Move program took place in 2025; artist participants included Assaleh Bibi, kumari giles, Devin Hill, Hector Machado, Jackie Robinson, and Zen Spencer.
How We Move collaborators include India Harville, Kayla Hamilton, and JJ Omelagah; Movement Research is a venue partner.
Image Description: six headshot photos of the new How We Move cohort artists, for detailed image descriptions of each, visit embracedbody.com/hwm
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