A Film About an Inclusive HUMAN Dance Project in Stuttgart
“Without moving images, inclusion remains invisible — only visibility creates true participation,” says Tanja Verlei. It was a matter of the heart for her to accompany the inclusive HUMAN Project at the opening of the new school building of the Nikolauspflege with her camera. The film offers a compelling glimpse into a “multiple” HUMAN premiere: for the first time, blind and visually impaired students with cognitive disabilities performed alongside students without disabilities, sharing their perspectives on human rights themes. They were supported by their teachers Regina Frieß and Marie Langemann, together with choreographer Katja Grzam and theatre educator Charlotte Baumgart from the HUMAN Project Lübeck.
“It was wonderful to witness how the students overcame their initial uncertainties, how gentle encounters took place, and how they developed shared ideas with great imagination and engaged with the theme of human rights,” reflects initiator Regina Frieß. School principal René Okunik is equally enthusiastic that after an intensive week of preparation, “full of energy and emotion, the performance was an emotional highlight for all our sighted and non-sighted students. The entire school community got to experience up close what our kids are made of — and that every person has the right to be seen.”
The film by media educator and filmmaker Tanja Verlei, capturing the HUMAN Project at the Betty Hirsch School Centre, can be viewed here. This HUMAN project was supported by Nikolauspflege Foundation for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and by musica innova Support Association