The Amici Dance Theatre Company, founded by Wolfgang Stange in 1980 and based in London, UK, is a

physically integrated dance The physically integrated dance movement is part of the disability culture movement, which recognizes and celebrates the first-person experience of disability, not as a medical model construct but as a social phenomenon, through artistic, litera ...

company which includes dancers with physical and also mental disabilities. The company are the community artists in residence at the

Lyric Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London.

theatre. The approach of Stange has been described as one that directly incorporates each dancer's unique qualities into the dance: Stange was inspired by his dance teacher,

Hilde Holger Hilde Boman-Behram (née Hilde Sofer, stage name Hilde Holger; 18 October 1905 – 22 September 2001) was an expressionist dancer, choreographer and dance teacher whose pioneering work in integrated dance transformed modern dance. Family H ...

. Holger, a Viennese-trained dancer, taught dance to her son, who had

Down Syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...

. In 1968, she used her experience teaching her son to mount a production with both physically and mentally disabled dancers. The dance piece, titled ''Towards the Light'', was performed at the prestigious

Sadler's Wells Theatre Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-seat ...

Repertoire

Some of the notable works by the company include:

References

External links

* Contemporary dance companies Dance companies in the United Kingdom Physically integrated dance 1980 establishments in the United Kingdom {{contemporary-dance-stub