Alito Alessi Delivers 'All Bodies Speak' Lecture March 8

Studies show that individuals with disabilities benefit greatly from arts engagement. Due to a lack of opportunities, as well as economic, social, and personal barriers, however, those with disabilities are much less likely to participate in arts and cultural activities than individuals without disabilities. The founder of DanceAbility International, Alito Alessi addresses this inequity and lack of inclusiveness through dance that creates opportunities for all people by utilizing movement as a universal language for expression and creation.

This event will initiate and lead into the 2018-2019 UHM Department of Theatre and Dance Mainstage season production titled Integral Bodies in April 2019. Integral Bodies is an innovative dance-theatre production that promotes inclusive dance-making and challenges stereotypes, prejudices, and assumptions about what a body means. This production involves various bodies in dance performance, using movement as a common ground upon which to build equal opportunity for people from different cultures, races, ethnicities, genders, and physical abilities to perform together.

Alito Alessi is the Artistic Director of DanceAbility International and co-founder of DanceAbility. Alessi has been involved with the evolution of contemporary dance for the past 30 years, and is internationally known as a pioneering teacher and choreographer in the fields of contact improvisation, as well as dance and disability. He began training teachers in DanceAbility in 1997, and teaches educators in various disciplines how to make their classes more accessible to people with disabilities. He continues to work closely with several integrated dance companies he helped found or start in more than seven countries as a consultant, co teacher and choreographer.

Alessi was selected as a Fulbright Senior Specialist (2007), received the Hong Kong Choreographer of the Year Award (2006), a Guggenheim Fellowship (2005), Choreographer's Fellowships from the American National Endowment for the Arts (1992-1993 & 1995-1996) and from the Oregon Arts Commission (1991), as well as numerous other OAC grants. Under Alessi's leadership, DanceAbility International was awarded a Fentress Endowment Award (2005) and a National Endowment for the Arts Exemplary Grant (1991) for DanceAbility. DanceAbility International has been in residence at the University of Oregon Dance Department since 1992.

Since 1982, Alessi has produced over 20 dance festivals in Eugene and other American cities, featuring the work of internationally-renowned and local dancers, and dance artists with disabilities.