Within five-year the journey of Unlimited, the partnership between the Armenian Small Theatre and the UK Candoco inclusive company has recorded great achievements, including the establishment of the first inclusive dance company in Armenia, staging two performances and touring in the UK, Georgia and Kazakhstan. On September 15 of 2018, the third performance of the Unlimited group was premiered, which was attended by the RA Prime Minister’s wife, the UK Ambassador in Armenia, the Deputy Minister of Culture, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, different sector representatives.
“LaVieEnRose/Other Dances” was performed by the group through which disabled and non-disabled actors express their perceptions and feelings about the current reality through dancing.
The discussion that followed with the state institutions was around supporting the further development of the inclusive art best practice in Armenia and securing the government support to ensure further development and scaling up of the Unlimited group to share its practice and support more people with disabilities to realise their potential and follow their career goals through art and culture. The respond has been very positive laying foundation for follow up discussions on supporting the Unlimited group and developing the inclusive art through sustainable education platforms.
At the end of the performance, the Prime Minister’s wife got acquainted with the artists and had a brief discussion with them wishing them future professional success.
In October-November of the same year the group toured five Armenian regions, performing for the regional audience.
In February 2019, the BBC World Service crew was hosted at Small Theatre in Yerevan to film and record interviews with the group members and its Artistic Director Vahan Badalyan. The reportage and the interview were aired on the the BBC channels, receiving wide visibility and recognition around the world. You can watch them through the links below.