From Knowing Each Individual, Roles and Challenges Begin to Grow
Interviewees: Sophie Tickle (Artistic Director), David Darcy (Dance Artist)
Dates: March 4, 2026 (Sophie Tickle), March 6, 2026 (David Darcy)
What emerged through DanceSyndrome was an approach to inclusive dance that is not framed as a “special category,” but as a space in which each individual can find their own way of engaging, participating, and gradually growing into different roles.
There is an accessible point of entry where people can begin simply by enjoying dance. Beyond that, further roles become possible: teaching, performing, choreographing, and contributing to artistic work. Community dance, artist development, dance leader training, and creative projects are not treated as separate strands of activity, but as connected and continuous spaces that support this progression.
At the center of this approach is a commitment not to see people simply as “participants,” but first to understand them as individuals.
Beginning by Knowing Each Individual
What Sophie emphasized strongly was the importance of not defining people primarily through disability or support needs. The first step is understanding what a person is interested in, what they enjoy, what causes them anxiety, and where they hope to go. Beyond this, DanceSyndrome also pays attention to how someone is arriving on a given day—their physical condition, emotional state, and relationships with family members or support networks. Relationship-building begins there.
“What matters most to us is connection, and the importance of every individual.
Whoever comes in, we first want to know them as a person. Their interests, their passions, where they want to go—or simply how they are arriving in that space on that day.
There is no right movement or wrong movement. Every movement carries its own beauty and meaning.”
To know the individual also includes understanding the relationships around them, particularly family members and supporters. Even when verbal communication may be difficult, those close to the person may hold valuable insight into their condition, preferences, or ways of engaging.
For DanceSyndrome, being inclusive does not mean asking people to fit into a pre-existing method. It begins with observing how a person moves, relates, and inhabits a space—while also recognizing the wider network that supports them.
Thinking About Each Person’s Path, Rather Than “Equal Opportunity” in the Same Form
At DanceSyndrome, an ongoing program called the Artist Development Program takes place every Wednesday. Participants gather regularly throughout the year, gradually building experience in dancing, self-expression, leadership, and choreography. At different times, the emphasis may shift—sometimes toward performance, at other times toward leadership or choreographic exploration.
Short-term intensive creative projects such as iCreate are built upon this continuous foundation. What distinguishes DanceSyndrome’s structure is that new challenges are layered onto long-term spaces where relationships and experience are already being cultivated.
A central value within this process is time. Rather than rushing toward outcomes, the company works slowly, often over several months, allowing movement to settle into the body and giving dancers the confidence to feel secure in what they are creating and performing.
“When working with people with learning disabilities, time is incredibly important.
We believe long rehearsal periods are necessary.
By working slowly over months, movement settles into the body, and dancers can feel secure in what they are creating and performing.”
Note: In the UK context, “learning disability” generally refers to intellectual disability, and does not directly correspond to the Japanese term for learning disorder.
Taking time is not about guiding everyone toward the same destination. DanceSyndrome explained that while it once emphasized making every opportunity equally available to everyone, it has gradually shifted toward thinking more carefully about what each person actually wants.
“We used to think it was important to open every opportunity to everyone.
But now we understand that this is not always the right approach.
Everyone is on their own path. Do they want to teach? To dance? To choreograph? To tour? Or is attending the Wednesday program enough? We speak with each person one-to-one and think together about the path that fits them.”
What matters here is not offering the same opportunities in the same way. It is about asking where the person wants to go, and shaping roles and opportunities accordingly—whether that means dancing, teaching, choreographing, touring, or simply continuing to attend a weekly space.
Co-Leadership Emerges Through Relationship
One of the most significant aspects of DanceSyndrome’s practice is its co-leadership model, built between dance artists and dance leaders. Here, the dance artist serves as a professional facilitator who structures sessions, supports artistic development, and helps guide the overall process. The dance leader, meanwhile, is a person with intellectual disability who brings their own lived experience, perspective, and interests into the leadership of the space. Sophie described this model as something like the “heart” of the organization.
“Our co-leadership model is like the heart of what we do.
But it looks completely different depending on the session.
That’s because the quality of the space changes depending on the relationship each dance artist and dance leader have built together.”
This is not simply a paired facilitation model. Even with the same structure, the atmosphere of a session shifts depending on who is working together. One partnership may feel calm and grounded; another may lean more toward playfulness or improvisation. These differences are not treated as inconsistencies, but as distinct qualities emerging from relationship.
What is especially striking is that this co-leadership is supported not by rigid role division, but by relationships cultivated over time. Dance artists come to understand the interests and strengths of dance leaders, while dance leaders gradually expand their own role. Because that relationship exists, leadership does not depend on both people always standing side by side. The wider space can move in response.
At DanceSyndrome, leadership is not held by one person. It is shared, developed, and sustained through relationship.
Returning Agency While Aiming for High Artistic Standards
What emerged through David’s reflections was that DanceSyndrome does not separate spaces for joyful participation from spaces of artistic challenge.
There are entry points such as Everybody Dance, where people can come together once a week simply to enjoy dancing. At the same time, for those who want more—to build skill, choreograph, perform, or deepen artistic practice—other pathways are available.
One such pathway is “iCreate”. According to David, “iCreate” is a project in which dance leaders and artists with intellectual disabilities stand at the forefront, creating work centered around their own interests and voices. Dance artists supporting the process do not create the work on their behalf. Instead, they co-deliver the process, enabling that individual to stand as choreographer.
“ “iCreate” was about putting one person at the front, giving them the opportunity for their own voice to be heard.
The role of co-delivery is to support that person.
It’s not, ‘Here you go, we’ve provided dancers for you.’ It’s about giving enough support—but then returning ownership of the work to them.”
What matters here is not removing support entirely. It is about retaining support while gradually returning artistic ownership and voice to the individual. Rather than collecting someone’s movement material and shaping it into work on their behalf, DanceSyndrome reconsiders who stands at the center of the work, and whose voice leads it.
David also spoke about the importance of maintaining high artistic standards.
“We can aim for high standards, and we can provide the support needed to reach them.
Disability does not mean things should be easier. Effort is still required.
What matters is creating the support around that effort.”
This is not about forcing people beyond their limits. It is important not to misjudge someone’s condition or place excessive pressure on them. But equally, it is possible to go beyond the first movement or idea that appears, and ask together: Is there another way? Can this be developed further?
When external choreographers are involved, dance artists like David often play an important bridging role. What matters is not abandoning artistic intention too quickly, but finding other ways to realize it while preserving its essence.
“What matters is not changing the artistic intention.
You don’t need to change everything. First, ask what the original intention was, then look for another way to achieve it.
If floor movement is difficult, perhaps that same intention can be expressed through hand movement while standing.”
This is where DanceSyndrome’s creative strength becomes visible. Being inclusive does not mean lowering artistic ambition. Rather, it means asking how artistic intention can remain intact while becoming reachable through real bodies, relationships, and lived conditions.
■ Research Notes
At DanceSyndrome, spaces for participation and spaces for development were not separated, but deeply connected. There is an entry point where people can simply enjoy dancing. Beyond that, there are roles in teaching, performing, choreographing, and touring. But this is not about directing everyone toward the same path. It begins by knowing each person, listening to where they want to go, and supporting them through time, relationship, and continuity.
The question does not end with How do we enable participation? It extends toward What kinds of roles and challenges can exist beyond participation?
DanceSyndrome’s practice suggests that to deeply understand individuals while sustaining high artistic challenge, what matters most is relationship, time, and how agency is gradually returned.