Early yesterday afternoon I was passing through Greenwich Park when I noticed that they were setting up for some kind of event next to the statue of Woolfe. At first I thought it could be some kind of filming, so I decided to take a closer look. I’m always interested in watching films being made of course, but it turned out to be something far cooler. Asking one of the young ladies working there what was going on, I was told that it was part of Greenwich and Docklands International Festival, and that there was going to be an aerial dance performance there the following day (today) involving an ambulant woman and a Maori man using a wheelchair.

Naturally this got me intrigued. I was told that there were going to be two performances today: one at 1pm and the second at 5.30. It occurred to me that going to watch both might be interesting, so earlier this afternoon I set off for Greenwich Park. I got there an hour or so before the performance itself, giving me time to mill around for a bit and get a good spot. Fortunately, that also meant I was able to meet the two dancers, Rodney Bell and Chloe Loftus, as well as watch their final rehearsal. They seemed almost as interested in me as I was in them, and we agreed to meet for a chat between their two performances.

A short while later the performance itself began, and I was almost instantly awe-struck. Bell was strapped firmly into his wheelchair while Loftus moved freely, and the two performed a fascinatingly beautiful duet, moving around one another both on the ground and suspended in the air. The Air Between Us was an utterly mesmerising work. I’m no dance critic, so I’m not sure I have the words or experience to capture it properly here, but it was like watching two atoms or planets orbiting one another, bouncing off each other, exploring each other. Set to quite modern, electric music, with the stunning backdrop of Greenwich Park and the Isle of Dogs beyond it, I and the audience around me was engrossed. When the twenty minute piece came to an end, there was an eruption of well deserved applause.

It was great to then give the two performers my congratulations. I thought it might be cool to show them some of my work on my Ipad, including my ‘Wheelchair Dancing’ screenplay, but I think they were pushed for time; there were also some very dark clouds gathering in the sky. A short while later I trundled back here, intending to grab some lunch and put a jumper on before heading back to the park for the second performance. The dark clouds were growing even darker though, so I decided it would be wiser to stay here than risk getting my powerchair drenched. Yet at least I managed to see one of the captivating performances, which was enough to remind me how beautiful dance can be as well as how exciting disability art is becoming.