Letting Bodies be Bodies: Exploring Relaxed Performance in the Canadian Performance Landscape

Abstract

There is an increasing movement toward accessibility in arts spaces, including recent legislative changes and commitments at individual, organizational, and systemic levels to integrating access into the arts across Canada. In this article, we explore Relaxed Performance (RP) in the context of this movement. We present the results of a reflexive thematic analysis of interviews conducted with participants who completed RP training offered by the British Council to . understand the training’s effectiveness and impact. We explore the significance of the training, and of RP in general, and in relation to disability studies and cultural and political activism. We undertake this exploration against a backdrop of interrogating who RP is for and by. The themes we describe are: Committed to Access, Training is Critical, Inviting Bodies to be Bodies, and Imagining Audiences. These themes tell a story of how RP relates to broader access work, the importance of training grounded in and led by disability/difference, the need to consider the relationships between bodies and spaces, and the tensions inherent to billing RP as “for all.” We conclude with an exploration of possible modifications, enhancements, or theoretical imaginings that could help RP to become more radically open to difference as it emerges, shifts, and changes.

Revisioning Fitness through a Relational Community of Practice: Conditions of Possibility for Access Intimacies and Body-Becoming Pedagogies through Art Making

“…One enabling component involved intentionally creating a relaxed space that we co-constituted by enacting a disability cultural practice called "relaxed performance" (e.g., Collins et al 2022;Jones et al 2022). Relaxed performance has emerged in the last few decades from a growing recognition of the contributions of disability, d/Deaf, mad, ageing, and fat activist-artists to disability rights and justice movements and the need to educate the mainstream about non-normative cultural practices to improve access to art (LaMarre et al 2021). As a cultural practice, relaxed performance aims to make art and cultural spaces more accessible through technical modifications, such as dimmed lights, warnings about and/or reductions in loud noises and pyrotechnics, the choice to move freely in and out of the space, and the creation of a "chill-out space" where people can relax, and more (LaMarre et al 2021;Collins et al 2022).…”

“…Relaxed performance has emerged in the last few decades from a growing recognition of the contributions of disability, d/Deaf, mad, ageing, and fat activist-artists to disability rights and justice movements and the need to educate the mainstream about non-normative cultural practices to improve access to art (LaMarre et al 2021). As a cultural practice, relaxed performance aims to make art and cultural spaces more accessible through technical modifications, such as dimmed lights, warnings about and/or reductions in loud noises and pyrotechnics, the choice to move freely in and out of the space, and the creation of a "chill-out space" where people can relax, and more (LaMarre et al 2021;Collins et al 2022). Within ReVisioning Fitness, we enacted this practice by encouraging people to engage in the ways that worked for them, including turning their cameras on or off as needed, situating themselves anywhere that made them feel comfortable (e.g., their bed), and inviting freedom to eat/drink, take breaks, and flow in and out of the online meeting space as desired.…”

A sensory-friendly adaptive concert model supported by caregiver perspectives

“…Adopting the transformative lens, the researchers therefore focused on individuals with exceptionalities and their caregivers who are often marginalized, particularly from cultural and social participation (LaMarre et al, 2021;Shiloh & LaGasse, 2014;Thompson et al, 2020;Umeda & Jirikowic, 2019). Assimilating research ideas on emancipatory-transformative theory by Mertens (1999Mertens ( , 2003Mertens ( , 2007, Sweetman et al (2010) argued for the use of a transformative lens when engaging in studies that intend to improve quality of life and/or advocate for various groups.…”

“…Beginning in the 1990s, individuals within theater studies sought to alleviate certain barriers for individuals with exceptionalities, making theater more accessible through Relaxed Performances (Shiloh & LaGasse, 2014). Designed to be inclusive for neurodiverse individuals and their families and accessible to those with disabilities (LaMarre et al, 2021; Umeda & Jirikowic, 2019; Vize, 2014), performances moved toward “sensory-friendly” language, wherein productions featured modifications in the physical environment to alleviate hyper- or hypo-stimulation and reduce intimidation and anxiety (LaMarre et al, 2021). It is estimated that 45%–75% of individuals with autism have sensory sensitivities (Muskett et al, 2019).…”

“…It is therefore not surprising that people with exceptionalities and families with children who have exceptionalities are far less likely to attend performances and cultural events than able-bodied and/or neurotypical populations (Kempe, 2015). As a result of decreased participation, social, physical, and mental wellbeing may be affected, and feelings of isolation may occur (LaMarre et al, 2021; Shiloh & LaGasse, 2014; Thompson et al, 2020; Umeda, 2017; Umeda & Jirikowic, 2019; Vize, 2014). However, an inclusive style of presentation has burgeoned in the performing arts to alleviate barriers to participation.…”