How inclusive dance TikToks are 'changing perspectives on what disabled people are capable of'

At age 14, Kate Stanforth was training to be a professional ballet dancer when she suddenly became unwell. She was ultimately diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), a chronic illness characterized by extreme fatigue and one that makes dancing while standing upright difficult.

But Stanforth, now in her mid-20s, hasn’t given up her dancing dreams. As the owner of the Kate Stanforth Academy of Dance in her native England and a popular TikTok presence with more than 2.3 million likes, the disabled dancer — who also has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), a series of inherited disorders affecting the connective tissue, and vasovagal syncope, in which the body responds to certain triggers by fainting — has become a leading champion of inclusive dance and compassionate movement. Teaching and dancing from her wheelchair or on the floor, Stanforth specializes in adapting choreography to suit both her needs and those of her audience, which includes people who have struggled to find accessible options and those who have felt discouraged from dancing because of a disability or health concern. From adaptive handstands to Broadway-inspired routines to barre exercises performed lying down so as to avoid the dizziness that can come with changing positions while standing, her videos are focused on finding joy within the body and moving it in whatever way works best for the individual.

TikTok has made Stanforth’s dance lessons even more accessible, enabling her to reach a wider audience without so much as entering a studio. She’s open about her own physicality, telling viewers, “My legs shake when I overexert myself” while demonstrating a routine to Adele’s new single. And along with choreography to the Encanto soundtrack or Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy,” she’s also using her platform to tackle discussions on disability and accessibility within dance and the world at large.

“One in 5 people have a disability, but when I’m scrolling through the [TikTok] ‘For You’ page I don’t see that representation on the platform,” Stanforth, who also works as a disability activist and model, tells Yahoo Life. “ I want to be a positive figure on TikTok representing the disabled community. And, more than anything, I want to show the world my love for dance and help push the dance world into being a more inclusive industry.”

Other disabled dancers are also using TikTok to build up a community that is inclusive, safe and adaptable for anyone. In California, model Pansy St. Battie performs burlesque from her wheelchair, while Kaylee Bays, who has EDS, posts about ableism in the industry alongside footage of her moves, writing, “Dancing with #ChronicIllness can be frustrating yet healing.”

British dancer, model, actress and medical ethics researcher Leah Rachel, meanwhile, went viral in December 2020 after sharing a video of herself tap dancing while sitting in a wheelchair. An ambulatory wheelchair user with EDS, she explained in the post’s caption that she only began performing after getting her chair a few years ago, noting “I don’t really know how to dance without it.” She tells Yahoo Life that she hopes the rise in inclusive dance content helps offer more representation and reframe how the disabled community is perceived.

“The way it normalizes disabled bodies and the way it normalizes disabled dancers, I think is very useful in changing perspectives on what disabled people are capable of,” she says.

Along the way, she, Stanforth and other disabled dancers are making movement more accessible and adaptable not only to those in their community but to anyone needing a reminder that “do what you can” is more than enough. From tap dancing to burlesque to ballet to club-worthy choreography, inclusive dance is showing that there’s room for everyone to find the joy in moving their bodies.

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