Take 5 with Leisa Issue 2 - Janice

(Start theme music, Chicago Brass Groove) Hi, and welcome back to Take 5 with Leisa Today I'm, having a chat with Janice Florence From Weave Movement Theatre Hi Janice and welcome to Take 5 Hi Thank you could you just fill us in on the history of Weave Movement Theatre It's fascinating to me well it actually started out as an Art Access project it was a series of workshops that I was hired to teach with Martin Hughes who I was dancing with then and it was leading up to some master classes by CanDo Co who are an U.K. dance company who were in Melbourne at that time and after we did all that the people who were in the company then wanted to stay together and to perform so we stayed together and because no one else wanted to lead it I did, and (both laugh) so that sort of job fell on me and has been with me ever since and is your movement theatre with both disabled and non-disabled people yes, we started off .. we have always had a range of disabilities yeah but more towards physical disability when we started and because there's not much around for physical disabilities in dance and theatre I find and also without disabilities and, so gradually over the years its evolved and we've got really big range of disabilities in the group now, which is quite unusual I think because normally it sort of tends to focus on one type of disability but, yes it's a diverse range of disabilities that makes it really interesting yeah, and personally with the history I mean, I acquired my disability right so this was .. I mean, weaves been going for 15 years so thats about 10 years after I aquired my disability and during that time I was always looking towards ways of keeping on dancing and performing with my disability and gradually it led to this before that, you know, I kept on doing stuff that I had been doing which is based on allot of improvisation techniques and so it's very flexible and can be used for a wide range of people right ok, has there been any particular thing that has been a real challenge to the whole company? The whole theatre? Well keeping goings a real challenge yeah because were an independent company not like other companies that are attached to some organisation or institution or what ever and we have had to do it all by ourselves and that's another way in which we're unusual in that we're an independent company of people with disabilities and that's really unusual and we're led by a person with a disability which is me and also a couple of founding members of Weave, who are, you know, strong supporters and do stuff that's important so I sometimes wonder if that diminishes out credibility that it's led by someone with a disability I don't know what makes you feel that? ah, Is it that you're not taken seriously by the artistic community? or some elements of the artistic community probably take us a bit more seriously but I do wonder if some other elements don't and I wonder if the company would do better if it was under an artistic director who didn't have a disability and I do rebel against that you know, I mean, do better in terms of being noticed right because in my mind I'm kind of thinking a person with a disability leading you into the future and whatever, would be able to understand like the particular hurdles and just simply what it's like to have a disability mmm so I think that would bring an enriching yeah, well I've had to learn allot about other disabilities too just because I've got a physical disability doesn't mean that I understand everything about all other disabilities but it's been a great experience for me to meet other disabilities and to have my preconceptions crumble and my perceptions change that's been fantastic and to see what all the different members of the company offer creatively is fantastic and but part of my keeping on is sort of a rebellious streak that makes me want to say 'well we are a company that's led my people with a disabilities' so there! you know thats what should happen yeah and should be able to happen well thanks so much for coming in today Janice it's been really great talking to you and yeah, I hope to see a lot more from you fantastic group in the near future Thank you (theme starts) and that's it from Take 5 See ya next time.