This Dance Show Is One To Remember

Australian theatre choreographer Kate Champion’s dance show 'Nothing To Lose' made waves last week at the 2015 Sydney Festival. In her final work as artistic director of award-winning dance theatre Force Majeure, she challenges the prejudices that exist against plus-size people. One concept that rubs me up the wrong way in this world is the idea that certain people can't do certain things because of how they look. It always reminds me of Rosa Parks in a way (just imagine telling someone they can't use a seat on the bus because of their skin color). It hopefully seems ridiculous to us now, but unfortunately these kinds of ideas still exist and are still generally accepted when it comes to other types of discriminatory actions. I would love to live in a world where editorial models were chosen according to how photogenic they are, and not what their fat percentage is. But luckily, there are many wonderful companies that are fighting against these oppressive ideas and using models they find beautiful no matter what their BMI is.

Kate Champion’s latest project is another step forward in challenging these restrictive prejudices — but this time in dance. Taking into consideration the fact that dance teachers are sometimes known to bring a weighing scale to lessons to weigh their dancers once a week — telling them that they have no chance in a career if they don't lose a certain amount of pounds — this project is a breath of fresh air. I could never be a dancer: I have no feeling for rhythm and no coordination. So I really admire those who can. If someone has the passion, determination, commitment and talent to pursue such a challenging career, then they should be allowed to do that no matter what physical attributes they happen to have.

Image: Force Majeure