ResDance Series 8: Episode 10: Inclusive Dance and Empowerment: Voices from Opening Doors Malta with Angela Bettoni and Sara Accettura

In this episode, Angela and Sara share insight into their experiences as educators, practitioners, researchers and advocates for inclusive practice. Situated around their workwith Opening Doors, an arts organisation in Malta that works for the active involvement of adults with intellectual disabilities in the artistic sector, we explore what ‘inclusivity’ means in their own artistic practice and experiences within the sector.  We explore the importance of open dialogue in fostering opportunities for collaboration, the need for societal change in the perception of inclusive arts and the wider role of dance and the moving body as a non-verbal form of communication. Throughout the episode, they celebrate an openness to inclusion and working alongside everyone, advocating that dance is accessible for all.  

https://openingdoors.org.mt/  

Angela Bettoni

Born in 2001, Angela is a writer, performer and advocate with Down Syndrome. Angela has been living in Maltasince 2013 and has a Sri Lankan mother and Italian Father. Angela has just finished her BA in Creative Arts at MCAST, where she previously received her Advanced Diploma in Performing Arts. Angela is a passionate advocate forinclusion in the performing arts in Malta. She became Malta’s first TV presenter with Down Syndrome when she co-presented a 10-minute programme (Action!) on TV Malta in 2022. In 2023, she collaborated with the MindAdventures Theatre Company in Sri Lanka, performing “Heart”, a mixed-ability duet to a monologue she had written. This summer (2024), she performed a mixed-ability duet called BALM at Dance Festival Malta and at the Venere inTeatro Festival in Venice. Angela has been an Executive Committee Member of the Commonwealth Children and Youth Disability Network (2021- 22) and is a member of the Young People's Disability Rights Forum in Malta (2021-2024). In December 2022, Angela received a JCI Malta Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) award for her advocacy work.

Contact details:

Website: www.angelabettoni.net  

Social Media:

Instagram - @angelabettoni18   

YouTube - Angela Bettoni Down SyndromeAdvocate  

X- @Angie_DownSyn   -

Facebook: Angela Bettoni

Sara Accettura

Sara Accettura is an educator, practitioner, and researcher with a PhD in Inclusive Dance and Autism (University of Bedfordshire). Her work focuses on creating accessible andempowering environments for neurodiverse individuals. Originally from Italy, Sara holds a Diploma for Dance Teachers and an MA in Choreography, as well as a first-class BA (Hons) and MA in Performance from London Contemporary DanceSchool (University of Kent). She has performed and choreographed for several European dance companies, with her choreographic works receiving international recognition and awards. Sara also teaches internationally. She is the artisticdirector of Junior Dance Company (Bari and Malta), Dance Master Class, and the inclusive project Dance For All. She lectures at the University of Malta in the Dance Studies and Disability Studies departments. Additionally, she is a boardmember and dance leader with Opening Doors Association Malta, promoting access to the arts for adults with intellectual disabilities.

Contact details:

Email: sara.accettura@um.edu.mt

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sara.accettura1/

Social media:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100079289806203 (Dance For All Project)

Other sources:

Accettura, S. (2023) ‘L'incontro tra danza e autismo: un'indagine qualitativa presentata attraverso l'uso di vignette’ in P. Grassi and R. Zammit Bioethics and the paradox of appearance: fragility, dependence, disability in the various phasesof life. Rome: Armando Editore, pp.703-720.

The JD Dragon Disability Rights Podcast:

(https://open.spotify.com/episode/1S6uurALuEXCbVXHHnO34G?si=mwK7WKONStytfQlJQ2AE2w)