When Nadia Adame grew to become creative director of AXIS Dance Firm in January 2022, it was extra of a homecoming than a brand new begin: Adame started her efficiency profession with AXIS in 2000. Initially from Spain, she graduated from the College of Colorado at Boulder, majoring in theater (she wasn’t accepted into the dance division as a result of her incapacity), and has since carried out, choreographed for, and directed worldwide corporations. Her twenty years of expertise are actually getting used to amplify AXIS’ distinct attributes: She describes the corporate as “a hub for motion artistry that celebrates disabled and neurodivergent artists, audiences, and communities of all backgrounds and experiences.” Adame is initiating noteworthy insurance policies and practices, together with a 30 % wage improve for dancers and the rehearsal director, plus two-year contracts for dancers. This month, October 11–13, AXIS performs at ODC in San Francisco.
AXIS has modified fairly a bit since 2000. Variety throughout the firm is rising, from having bodily disabled dancers to together with people who find themselves visually impaired or artists who’re from the Deaf group and people who find themselves neurodivergent. The range of alternatives for disabled artists has additionally expanded throughout the firm. As an example, the earlier creative director began Choreo-Lab for disabled choreographers.
Along with the dancers’ wage improve, I launched advantages that embrace month-to-month bodily remedy, skilled improvement, and trip. Now dancers get two weeks of paid trip. For me, that is necessary as a result of dancers have to deal with their our bodies and their psychological well being, too. With paid depart they don’t need to search for one other job to cowl their hire or bills.
I wish to lead with compassion, but in addition be agency. The dance world could be very harsh: Some leaders really feel that they need to be imply with a view to get one thing. I attempt to have a number of empathy and caring for the complete workforce. However simply because I say issues in a pleasant method doesn’t imply the principles don’t apply to you. And it doesn’t imply the principles don’t apply to me. At AXIS, we’re all in the identical boat: I would like all of us to carry one another accountable.
I bear in mind after I introduced up an issue as a dancer within the firm. I stated, “Pay attention, we can’t be in a van for six hours after which go straight into the theater and into tech rehearsal. That’s not sustainable for any of us, not solely the disabled dancers but in addition the nondisabled dancers.” I make sure that, now that I’m on this place, that doesn’t occur. We don’t do a costume rehearsal the identical day that now we have a present.
I wish to deliver worldwide choreographers to AXIS. For the ODC season, I’ve choreographed a quartet titled Piel de Luna, which means “Pores and skin of the Moon.” I’m concerned about how we join with one individual and never one other: This power relationship is like the one between the moon and the earth. We even have an intimate duet choreographed by Dazaun Soleyn, a San Francisco choreographer. The third piece is Blueprints of Being, by Jorge Crecis. He works from a neurological viewpoint: how we arrange connections between the mind and the physique and the way we’re current onstage. For this piece, I invited Bay Space dance firm Submit:ballet to collaborate: They’ll deliver 4 dancers, and we’ll deliver seven AXIS dancers, to create with Jorge. Jorge may even create two further items based mostly on Blueprints of Being, so we are able to tour this work collectively or individually.
One of many issues that I’m combating is that we don’t have sufficient visibility. Though we’ve been round for 37 years, persons are nonetheless asking, “What’s AXIS?” Many of the main disabled dancers who’re performing, choreographing, and directing right now have come out of AXIS or have intersected ultimately with the AXIS world.
