It was a joy to read the May 12 article, Dance that crosses physical and geographic boundaries. On opening night, I was wowed by a performance of Karen Peterson and Dancers (KPD). The Miami/Lisbon Dance Exchange was profoundly intense and meaningful. It’s not enough to just read about the KPD troupe. Their dance programs must be experienced live to be fully appreciated. The cultural element was compelling in the music and dance. I was moved by the freedom of the wheelchair da

Miami dance company Karen Peterson and Dancers will close its 26th season this weekend with a series of premieres as well as collaborations with two of Portugal’s leading dance companies: Amalgama Companhia de Danca and Plural. These groups, like Peterson’s, are committed to exploring what physicality and mixed-ability are all about. The evening performances will begin with dancers and choreography from Lisbon’s Amalgama Companhia de Dança. The piece features two duets in an

Marjorie Burnett is one of the founding members of Karen Peterson and Dancers, a mixed-ability dance company in Miami. Burnett has cerebral palsy, and in the latest piece she’s rehearsing she wants to challenge how people look at her because she’s in wheelchair. “I want to show the audience that I’m a real person,” she says. Burnett, 54, is performing with guest choreographer Pioneer Winter. The piece is entitled “Gimp Gait,” a nod to the stereotypes and slurs used against

Contemporary dance has a way of showing us how harmoniously encompassing art can be. That’s what South Florida’s mixed-ability dance troupe Karen Peterson and Dancers (KPD), together with Portuguese counterparts Amalgama Companhia de Dança and Plural | Núcleo de Dança Contemporânea, set out to prove on Thursday and Friday with the U.S. premiere of the Miami/Lisbon Dance Exchange, a transatlantic creative collaboration of artists that explores bodies of all abilities in motion