1 episode
Heidi Duckler Dance Heidi Duckler
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- Arts
Heidi Duckler Dance (HDD) is a non-profit dance company that creates place-based performances in non-traditional spaces, providing learning opportunities and engaging diverse communities, in the belief that the arts can change our vision of the world and of ourselves.
Initially founded in 1985, HDD is a pioneer in producing interdisciplinary performances. HDD advances social equity in under-resourced communities by providing opportunities for audience members and students to interact with meaningful spaces, both public and private, that they may not otherwise have access to.
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Heidi Duckler Dance - One Leg at a Time Panel
February 2, 2020 – Track 16 Gallery, Los Angeles, CA.
In this episode you can listen to the panelists of our One Leg at a Time exhibition discussing the themes of incarceration, reentry, and the role of arts in rehabilitation. The panel was moderated by Abbe Land, and included Theresa Martinez, Prof. Geoffrey Robinson, Vanessa Sapien, Terri Lynn Scrape, and Sabra Williams.
One Leg at Time was the culminating public event of our three-month educational residency at the California Institution for Women (CIW) in Chino, California in 2019. HDD teaching artists engaged a group of incarcerated women with movement workshops that focused on issues of self-esteem, personal responsibility, and physical expression to reduce the negative impact of traumatic or overwhelming events. Through these workshops participants were able to physically narrate and verbally share their stories, culminating with their own expressive choreography.
Up until this point, these powerful experiences had remained behind closed doors, this exhibition shared this work with the public. One Leg at a Time allowed attendees to walk in the footsteps of the participants, listen to their stories and watch their performance, witness a performance by HDD’s teaching artists, and participate in a panel discussion.
This exhibition challenged audience members to evaluate how the arts can inform the conversation around mental health, and sexual and physical abuse among incarcerated women. This journey allowed all walks of life to be encapsulated in the participants’ world, bridging the gap between the free and the incarcerated and fostering greater understanding, empathy, and respect.