FIDGET understanding neurodiversity through dance

Who is Tonte Dance?

Teacher - Choreographer - Artist

Hi I'm Keisha Tonte Njoku, founder of Tonte Dance and I have a vision to see communities health restored and wounds healed through urban dance. 

I am an IDTA (International Dance Teachers Association) qualified dance teacher and workshop facilitator with over 22+ years experience in community dance, locally and internationally. 

I have had a 20+ year career working with young people aged 18-25 developing community projects in the UK and overseas so has the experience of connecting with diverse groups.

The Vision for Fidget...

The neurodivergent community involves dyslexics, dyspraxics, AD(H)D, autistics (including those with Asperger’s), dyscalculics, OCD, dysgraphics, Tourettes.

So we will be researching, creating and filming an innovative piece of dance choreography through workshops and weekly rehearsals with neurodiverse (ND) and non ND dancers , with the aim of inspiring other undervalued and unheard neurodivergent (ND) dancers to celebrate their unique way of thinking, which promotes creativity and also to raise awareness within the non-neurodivergent community on its’ complexities and benefits. 

Aaliyah Josephine Dawkins (Fidget Dancer) - explains her experience with ADHD as a dance student.. 

"there were times I would just get up and leave the classroom.. zone out.. you'll see me tapping my foot... "

"I'm a dancer and this is what keeps me going.."

In collaboration with DYSPLA, a neurodivergent-led award winning arts studio, whose aim is to inspire Britain's neurodivergent community through the arts through recognising their brilliance, then, this in itself promotes a pathway to healing from ‘rejection’ and just not being able to ‘do life well’.

Neurodiversity

DYSPLA, champion the idea that the neurodivergent mind ‘makes better stories’ and can find solutions others would never have thought of, because of the innovative and imaginative way of thinking. 

In line with that, the piece will dip in and out of the mind and thought patterns of a neurodivergent artist and also their non-neurodivergent family members / peers. 

The audience  will be taken on a journey sometimes ‘sinking’ under the pressure of how others perceive their actions or how they are feeling, but then via an imaginative innovative idea or creation they become free and experience healing.

Outcomes - A filmed piece that can be shared online to raise awareness and inspire and bring about an element of healing in the hearts of the viewers.

• Non-neurodivergent people who engaged with the process report that they gained a better understanding of the condition 

• Neurodivergent artists that engage with the piece report an increased understanding the positives of having a different way of thinking 

• 80% of participants access tools for exploring healing by attending the  ‘healing through dance’ workshop and / or the practical tasks and creation of the piece 

• The choreographer and dancers could identify and share ways in which they can adapt their own artistic practice moving forward to be more inclusive and relevant in terms of neurodiversity in dance.