Gestural Choreographies: Moving Between Bodies

Choreography grounded in gesture by learning disabled dancers transmits learning disability cultures and experiences. Performers transform concepts and practices of mainstream dance and work towards an expanded aesthetics. This article considers the work of Welsh group Cyrff Ystwyth, a company of people with various capacities who follow the lead of choreographers with learning disability. My methodology relies on a heuristic approach defined by Clark Moustakas: ‘In heuristics, an unshakeable connection exists between what is out there, in its appearance and reality, and what is within me in reflective thought, feeling and awareness’ (1990, p. 12).