When we think about wheelchair dance, often, what springs to mind, is the more traditional forms of ballroom and jazz. However, there is a growing interest in other ways to dance in a wheelchair, including Hip Hop.
Chelsie Hill, one of the leading professional dancers in the industry, has just released her latest dance video, and it is so exciting!
The choreography was designed by Kendrick Clevor and integrates the wheelchair moves with those of a group of able-bodied dancers, creating a seamless dance troupe that is completely united.
Chelsie, who teaches dance, is well known in the Hip Hop world. All she had ever wanted to be was a dancer, and when an accident left her paralysed at the age of 17, her immediate thought was how she was going to continue to dance.
She was inspired by a video starring Auti Angel, a former professional dancer and choreographer, performing with hip-hop artists N.W.A, Kid ‘n Play and LL Cool J, who had been in a wheelchair for 20 years. Chelsie met Auti nine months after her accident and with Auti’s encouragement, she learned to dance again.
Chelsie has gone on to inspire vast numbers of people with her YouTube tutorials and dance classes. She says, “dance is dance whether you are walking or your rolling, and that’s what I think is the beauty of dance. Dance doesn’t have a disability…Dance is something you feel in your heart.”
Chelsie is an amazing dancer and teacher, and is leading the way in modern wheelchair dance. (Claire Colley, WDSA UK).