History
DACP was founded by Kathy Coleman, Erik Ferguson, and Jody Ramey in January of 2005 as a way to support and expand upon a number of inclusive and mixed abilities dance events that have been occurring in Portland since 2002.
About the Co-Directors
Kathy Coleman is a DanceAbility instructor and has prior dance experience with the New Dance Company of Stockton, California which included studying modern dance and expressive movement arts. She conceived of the Disability Arts and Culture Project not only as a way to support movement arts, but also to foster affirmative disability identity in individuals and the community. Kathy has a Master’s in Social Work with a concentration in Disability Studies. The core of her artistic work is centered on themes of disability from a social relations perspective. She uses text and movement to portray lived experiences of cross disability realities and dreams. She does not shy away from difficult or dark truths, which in her view hold their own beauty. She incorporates bodies and ways of moving to stretch the audience’s view of dance and the possibilities of an inclusive society.
Erik Ferguson began dancing in 2003 after taking the DanceAbility teacher training course in Trier, Germany. He became active in the contact improvisation and alternative dance communities and has performed at various venues throughout the region. He has taught DanceAbility in Portland and its surrounding areas as well as Canada and Mexico. He was elected a member of the teaching body of the West Coast Contact Improvisation Festival in 2006. He has a B. A. from Portland State University with a concentration in Art History.