Tag Archives: Ellice Patterson

May 19

This is the Future Progressive Theatremakers Want: A “Firebird” Ballet

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Crappy screencap of a screen photos by Kitty Drexel

Presented by Abilities Dance Boston
Based on the Slavic firebird folktale
Choreography by Ellice Patterson with the ensemble
Music composed and directed by Andrew Choe
The Firebird program has full cast and crew information

May 14 & 15, 2021
Livestreamed from the Wimberly Theatre at the Calderwood Pavillion
Boston, MA
Abilities Dance on Facebook

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON/YouTube — The pressure to create during quarantine reached monstrous enormity. For every normie Tom, Delia, and Harrison Ford who worked on a script because Lear was written during a pandemic, an artist with a resume of successes couldn’t polish their abilities because they were too busy surviving the next 24-hours. 

Survival for the disabled arts community means something very different than it does the abled community. Jobs for disabled artists didn’t merely dwindle. They vanished overnight. Some of those jobs may never reappear. 

Our priorities went from managing a job to managing continued existence in a world actively trying to kill them: doctors appointments and surgeries were canceled, elevators became vectors for disease, carers were transferred to essential service positions. We went from demanding plastic straws in restaurants to demanding our right to live at all. It felt like ableds weren’t going to permit us either thing.   Continue reading →

Nov 02

It’s Not Always About Mobility: A Dance Concert by Abilities Dance Boston

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Presented by Celebrity Series of Boston
Performed by Abilities Dance Boston 
Choreography and audio descriptions by Executive/Artistic Director Ellice Patterson
Audio descriptions edited by Amber Pearcy
Costumes designed by Laura Brody 
Music composed by Erin Rogers and Andrew Choe
Performers: Scynthia Charles, Janelle Diaz, Ellice Patterson, Lauren Sava

Thu. October 29, 8:00 PM
Live-streamed from The Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA.
Boston, MA 
Abilities Dance Boston on Facebook 

Critique by Kitty Drexel

Disclaimer: It’s election night 2020. This review is very late. Everything is stressful in this moment. So: we’ll correct mistakes and other issues in the morning. 

Boston, MA — Abled people don’t seem to understand that the intended purpose of assisted mobility devices is freedom. Wheelchairs, crutches, blind canes, and service animals* provide greater environmental access to the user. Hollywood perpetuates the myth that disabled people cannot move without their assisted mobility device. Disabled people can do a lot of things Hollywood doesn’t think they can do like run, sing, love, dance, work, swim, and fuck like champions. 

In reality, how and how often a mobility device is used is determined by the user. The user may not always need their wheelchair or they may always need it. Usage is determined by the user and their medical professional. An untrained, unknown abled adult should never tell a disabled adult how to use their mobility device. This is ableist and, frankly, none of their damn business. 

On Thursday, October 29, Abilities Dance Boston performed eight pieces live to streamed-audience from the Calderwood Pavilion. The stage was bare. The curtains and floor were black. The lightning design favored purples and oranges. The audience was empty.  Continue reading →