Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Alice Sheppard

Alice Sheppard seated in her wheelchair with two crutches, crosses her body and arches her spine to look behind. The photo is a mirror reflection and Alice looks back at herself as her crutches disappear into each other in a seamless touchpoint. Photo by Lisa Niedermeyer
Alice Sheppard from solo work Where Good Souls Fear. Photo by Lisa Niedermeyer.

Alice Sheppard took her first dance class in order to make good on a dare; she loved moving so much that she resigned her academic professorship in order to begin a career in dance. She studied ballet and modern with Kitty Lunn and made her debut with Infinity Dance Theater. After an apprenticeship, Alice joined AXIS Dance Company where she toured nationally and taught in the company’s education and outreach programs.

Since becoming an independent artist, Alice has danced in projects with Ballet Cymru, GDance, and Marc Brew in the United Kingdom. In the United States, she has worked with Full Radius Dance, Marjani Forté, MBDance, Infinity Dance Theater, and Steve Paxton.

As an emerging, award-winning choreographer, Alice creates movement that challenges conventional understandings of disabled and dancing bodies. Engaging with disability arts, culture and history, Alice attends to the complex intersections of disability, gender, and race by exploring the societal and cultural significance of difference.

Andromeda slides in a spider position on her stomach down the shiny ramp. The shadow of her wheelchair is visible; her curly hair glows. Photo by MANCC / Chris Cameron.
Alice Sheppard as Andromeda in DESCENT by Kinetic Light. Photo by MANCC / Chris Cameron.
Alice Sheppard unstraps Laurel Lawson from her wheelchair as Laurel spins the partnering moment by pushing Alice's left wheel rim with both hands. Photo by Filip Wolak courtesy of Whitney Museum of American Art.
Alice Sheppard and Laurel Lawson of Kinetic LIght in performance a The Whitney Museum. Photo by Filip Wolak.
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2 COMMENTS

  1. […] Alice Sheppard lives and works in Los Angeles, California. At the time of interview she was involved in rehearsals for an intimate showcase that considers disability as innovation as opposed to a hindrance. For this project she has been “dancing her heart out.” […]

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