Sheppard and Lawson partner, with their wheelchairs joined, at the base of the ramp in a performance of DESCENT. Photo by MANCC/Chris Cameron.
Still, it brought together Lawson and Sheppard, who gradually sought to expand the field on their own. The pair began collaborating after Lawson proposed Sheppard for a role in a work with Full Radius Dance in 2013. (While Sheppard is building a career as an independent artist and artistic director for Kinetic Light, Lawson continues to dance for Full Radius, while working as a product designer with a software consultancy, and as a member of the USA Women's Development Sled Hockey team.)Together in the studio, something clicked. “Alice and I have known we’ve had work to make together for some years,” Lawson said. “It was a matter of waiting for the time to be right.” Things clicked again when Sheppard met Maag on a panel speaking on their experiences as disabled artists in the summer of 2015. “We were in alignment with one another,” Maag said, “And she had something she wanted to create.”“We had to learn a completely new way of being"
The ramp spans 24 by 15 feet across the stage, with the righthand peak reaching six feet. Throughout DESCENT it is illuminated with art, landscapes and stars projected by Michael Maag.
Lisa Niedermeyer, Kinetic Light producer. Photo by Mick Bellow.
Lawson holds Sheppard in a shoulder lift. Maag's projection of a purple sky and Rodin sculptures are in the background. Photo by MANCC.
