For the last few months I have been working on a new project, '.... and then came 'icandance'.
I have teamed up with writer Tamara Pollock to produce a series of portraits with quotes/anecdotes taken directly from interviews with dancers and their families. We are working in collaboration with the charity, icandance.
“icandance believes that everyone, regardless of disability, can access their own creativity through dance. We believe that dance enhances confidence and emotional wellbeing” Juliet Diener, Founder & Principal
Both Tamara and I will be featuring our own stories of life with children with special needs and what impact icandance has had on ours and our childrens wellbeing.
We are over half way through the project and have been so overwhelmed by the welcome we have received from all the families involved. We have been able to share our experiences in such an honest and intimate way. It has been a privilege to photograph such inspirational people and I hope my photographs do them justice.
We will be having a small exhibition at the icandance annual show at the Arts Depot in North Finchley on the 2nd July, followed by a larger fundraising exhibition in September/October at which we will show the complete project.
This annual performance is one that we look forward to every year, it's one that leaves you feeling totally loved up and underlines your faith in the goodness of people.
Through the project we hope to raise the profile of icandance and to change perceptions of what it is to be a dancer. We won't be able to do this on our own and will need the support of people spreading the word..... sharing and caring.
Margot: There will be syndromes to do with our children as yet unknown and unchartered but in the end it won't make any difference. The only control we have is our response to it. We will not be able to predict what this amazing extraordinary world throws up at us but we can decide whether its going to be a good or a bad outcome. There's nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so. That's all I can think of. You have to cling to these noble thoughts to cope with the exhaustion.