Bill Shannon, the “Crutchmaster,” brings a whole new definition to hip-hop dancing.
Diagnosed with a rare form of arthritis at age 5, Shannon has used crutches for a large part of his life. But his passion for art and dance overshadowed his disability, and Shannon has entered the hip-hop world through dance performances with his crutches.
Students will have the opportunity to see the artist in action and also hear about his experiences tonight at 7 p.m. in the EMU Ballroom as part of the University’s disability awareness week, which aims to address different disability issues through a variety of events.
Joy Nair, ASUO diversity recruitment and retention director, is helping to organize the events. She said race is not the only topic that surrounds diversity issues, which some students may not be aware.
“We don’t have much disability education on campus,” she said. “And when we talk about diversity, (disability) is not a subject that’s brought up.”
The week’s events will include a series of wheelchair basketball games Wednesday put on by the Portland Wheelblazers. Rounding out the week are workshops focusing on different aspects of disabilities such as mental handicaps and how the University accommodates for students with disabilities, as well as a coffee hour discussion with the diversity team.
Shannon, who hails from Pittsburgh, Pa., is the week’s keynote speaker and is known both nationally and internationally for the elegance and fluidity of his dancing on crutches. The “Crutchmaster” is widely recognized in the New York City hip-hop and club dance scene for his use of mobility and movement, and is well known for his street performances in Chicago and New York that sometimes integrate a skateboard in his dancing.
Shannon’s disability caused him to start using crutches when he was 5 years old, and when he was 12, treatment and surgery helped clear his arthritis.
But treatments helped only temporarily. His disability re-emerged in his mid-20s, and Shannon said this combined experience of being both a “disabled person” and an “able-bodied person” is what gives him a unique perspective. He added that his presentation is more about “able-bodied” people.
“For me, disability awareness week is a moment for me to reflect on how people with disabilities are perceived by able-bodied people,” he said. “I don’t perceive myself differently, but the world reacts differently to me.”
Shannon, who will discuss the spectacle of awkwardness through dance and disability, said that he doesn’t see himself as an expert, teacher or representative for people with disabilities.
“I am an artist, and the way I create and make things happen is a little different,” he said. “My approach is to come and talk about what I see as the political and cultural relationship between [disability issues] and other civil rights movements. But I can’t speak for the majority of disabled communities because they’re so diverse …disabilities affect you to different degrees at different times of your life.”
Nilda Brooklyn, ASUO multicultural advocate, said the ASUO intends for the week to educate students about generalizations made about people with disabilities, an underrepresented population in the campus community.
Thursday’s workshop, for example, will address mental disabilities — a subject that is not talked about as much as more visible handicaps, such as people in wheelchairs. The discussions will also incorporate the Americans with Disabilities Act codes and common complaints the Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Office receives from people with disabilities.
Sid Moore, human rights investigator at the Affirmative Action office, said that of the complaints he receives, many of them come from students with disabilities. Many times, he said, the complaints include the University’s failure to accommodate for less traditional handicaps, such as Attention Deficit Disorder and dyslexia.
“Disability discrimination is one of the most common reasons people file grievances,” he said. “Disabilities come in a wide variety of shapes and forms, and some of it isn’t as easy to see and accommodate for.”
Nair said that throughout this week, the ASUO diversity team hopes to open students’ eyes to diversity issues that are not often addressed and how they affect campus.
“The school doesn’t address all of these issues and neither do students,” she said. “We want to make students more aware and to tie all this in with how the University treats these issues.”