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Description
Many children with physical disabilities are disadvantaged if they want to participate at any physical or dancing activities. The intention of the project is to overcome barriers that usually prevent children on wheelchairs to participate in dancing classes. These barriers are either psychological on the side of the children themselves. Or organizers of the classes are not confident or willing to work with handicapped children. The project brings unique opportunity for these children. It will organize regular dancing and physical trainings (twice a week) that will be adapted for their special needs. Another goal of the project is to remove the prejudice of the majority towards people with disabilities by creation of choreography and presenting their dance to the public. Children will strengthen their overall physical fitness, better their coordination and increase their overall self-confidence. Partner of the project - Special school Spojena skola in Kosice will select suitable children for the dance classes and provide the premises for the classes.
Summary of project results
Children with disabilities are disadvantaged in many different ways, one of which is dancing. Such children often spend their entire childhood and youth in exclusion, attending a special school or institution and do not engage in public life in any way. The objective of the project "Dance without Barriers" was to provide more opportunities for disabled children (in wheelchairs) to be included in public life through dancing. The project involved regular physical activity for 12 disabled children, 2 times a week, throughout the 2019/2020 academic year. Two dance choreographies were created as part of the project and were then presented at a public performance. One of them was at the Carpathian Foundation Gala, which was attended by the President of the Slovak Republic, Zuzana Čaputová. The dance practice of handicapped children strengthens the muscles of their upper limbs, and from the physiological point of view, it enhances the functioning of the internal organs of the respiratory and circulatory system. It also improves neuromuscular coordination. Besides the disabled children, the project also involved their parents, coaches, and the general public, who came to see the performances. In total, 350 people were involved.The main purpose of the project was to ensure that the disabled children find a sense of relaxation, fun, and joy in the dance classes and that they become a part of society through public performances. Dancing encouraged intense movement, helped them to develop swiftness and courage, and appealed to their aesthetic sensitivity. This project encouraged the disabled children to strive to achieve and therefore has a long-term meaning. It inspires other disabled children and adults and helps to eliminate public prejudice against disadvantaged people. The project is still being realized in the 2nd call of the ACF program.