Forward Motion Promises a Festival of Physically Integrated Dance Festival Firsts

March in Miami is known by many as a month for dance. There are countless festivals this month (Ultra Music Festival among them), but a lesser-known dance festival is making waves in the community and abroad: the Forward Motion Dance Festival & Conference of Physically Integrated Dance.

Taking place on March 23 and 24, Forward Motion, now in its fifth year, stands out from other events. Physically integrated dance is a form that honors professional movers across the full spectrum of physical abilities. As Karen Peterson Corash, artistic director of Karen Peterson and Dancers (KPD) and founder of the festival, notes, "The way that they come together with their unique movement styles is what's highlighted versus their disability."

The focus is on artistic creation, and it takes cues from the philosophy of equity, diversion, and inclusion. "I'm very proud to say that the three choreographers that I have commissioned [for the festival] all have a disability," Peterson Corash says.

For Peterson Corash, physically integrated dance isn't a new concept. KPD, which she has been running since 1990, is a physically integrated dance company. "I wanted to make some type of statement," she explains. "I wanted to do something that was important. I think mixed physically integrated dances forced me to be more creative because I've had to think outside the box."

This out-of-the-box thinking is helping South Florida's differently abled teenagers, too, as Peterson Corash is currently working with young teenagers with disabilities. "We're working with 125 teenagers right now," she says. "Most of them have learning and developmental disabilities. And we use dance really as a healing tool. So, dance is really not only an artistic voice and a vision for most of these mature audiences, but it's also an incredible learning, healing tool for these young teens who are in the school system."

As for the development of the Forward Motion Dance Festival, Peterson Corash credits simply looking for a community of like-minded artists who practiced physically inclusive dance. She was a member of the Dance USA National Deaf and Disability Affinity group, an online Zoom group, and she got the chance to meet a lot of people who were doing exactly what she was doing in Miami — and inspiration struck.

"I was amazed that there were several organizations and dance companies that worked in a similar fashion that I did," she says. And with assistance from the Knight Foundation for that first year, the festival was born. For the first few years, Peterson Corash invited large, established dance companies in the physically integrated dance space. But this year, she changed direction and invited younger, talented choreographers who aren't affiliated with large companies.

"I was looking for some camaraderie because I had been doing this by myself in the state of Florida," she says. "A festival to share performances, share workshops, share educational methods, and also just be a like-minded artist."

Peterson Corash put out a call to the dance and disability community at large, and they responded. Of the three choreographers for the festival, Mark Travis grew up in Miami and Hialeah and has returned for a week to work with KPD. Another, Julie Crothers, was just hailed by Dance Magazine as one of the 25 young choreographers to watch. And the third? None other than Polish dance team Pawel Karpinski and Magdalena Matusiak, who won the Kosice 2023 Para Dance Sport World Cup in Latin-style dance.

This will be a festival of firsts: It marks the first time Peterson Corash has showcased ballroom dance alongside contemporary dance for the festival, the first time live music will be performed (by the 20-piece Spirit of Goodwill band), and it will feature four Miami premieres. And for the first time, chair dancers will outnumber nonchair dancers at the festival (five to three).

The second part of the dance festival — the conference — involves workshops that tackle everything from improvisational dance to seeing integrated dance through the eyes of the dancers. "The workshops are open to all community members — abled or disabled," Peterson Corash says. "The whole process of physically integrated dance is the collaborative spirit."

The festival's goal is to continue showing the Miami community that disability and dance have a strong connection in the performing arts. Physically integrated dance and inclusion aren't going away. In fact, over the past 30 years, the work has continued to evolve. And Peterson Corash wants the local community to get involved as well.

"It's a really nice event where the guest dancers from out of town get to meet local people," she says. "It's about crossing those barriers or those prejudices you might have about dancing with someone you don't know. It's really about overcoming obstacles, either your own personal obstacles or overcoming fears of someone who might be disabled."

Forward Motion Dance Festival. 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 23, at Miami-Dade County Auditorium, 2901 W. Flagler Str., Miami; and noon and 6 p.m. Sunday, March 24, at the Koubek Center, 2705 SW Third St., Miami; karenpetersondancers.org. Tickets cost $20 to $25.