News
A select group of dancers with disability will represent Australia in a little over a week’s time at the ICU Junior World & World Cheerleading Championships. It is the first time Australia has entered teams into the disability categories at the event, marking a significant moment for inclusive sport and performing arts in Australia.
The Madeline Stuart Dance Company (MSDC), a disability led company owned by Madeline Stewart, an Australian model with Down syndrome, in partnership with the Australian Cheer Union, is preparing to showcase Australia’s first ever teams made up entirely of athletes with disabilities at the ICU World Championships in Orlando, USA which is scheduled to be held from the 22nd to the 24th of April.
Powerd spoke with Manager of the Madeline Stuart Dance Company, Rosanne Stuart, about the significance of this year’s dancers.
“ The Australian Cheer Union came to us late last year because…they have got four teams of unified, which means that if it's adaptive abilities, only 25% of the team have to have a disability. This year, for the first time ever, they wanted to send over some teams that were a hundred percent people with disabilities.
Rosanne Stuart
The teams will compete in the Special Olympic Independent Hip Hop and Special Abilities Hip Hop categories, which as Ms Stuart explains, forms part of a larger cohort of dance styles.
“They do lots of different divisions, not just cheerleading, but it is dancing and it's a big part of the competition.”
The ICU World Championships brings together thousands of athletes from nearly 30 countries.
When asked what the team hopes to achieve during the competition, Ms Stuart says the team is all about showcasing what people with disability can accomplish in the realm of sport and fitness.
When Madeline first started going to the gym back in 2015, there wasn't anybody with disabilities in her gym. Now, there's about 30 or 40 people with disabilities…I just think it's about educating people and offering people more opportunities.
Rosanne Stuart
“It's wonderful that the dance school can offer this…it's giving them the chance to represent their country, but it's more about people with disabilities being able to do mainstream competitions like other people…I just think it's very important that everyone has the same opportunities.”
The ICU Junior World & World Cheerleading Championships will be broadcast internationally on the official Olympic sports channel.