“This ensemble of disabled artists is on the rise."
— Brian Seibert, The New Yorker
Kinetic Light
Kinetic Light is an internationally-recognized disability arts ensemble. Working in the disciplines of art, technology, design, and dance, the company creates, performs, and teaches at the nexus of access, queerness, disability, dance, and race.
Kinetic Light is led by disabled artists; disabled artists create, design, and perform the work. The work speaks to and emerges from disability aesthetics and disability culture, and it is connected to the rich traditions and exciting contemporary conversations of disabled artists in all artistic fields.
In Kinetic Light’s work disability is not a deficit, it is a powerful, intersectional creative force that is essential to artistry. Access is integral to the art and creative process.
Founded in 2016 under the direction and artistic leadership of Alice Sheppard, Kinetic Light is currently celebrating their 10th anniversary. Kinetic Light founding artists include Sheppard, Laurel Lawson, and Michael Maag. Jerron Herman joined as a Wired artist 2019-2023. Kayla Hamilton and Tatiana Cholewa are Collaborating Artists for The Next TiMes. The performing company is supported by a team of administration and production professionals who work behind the scenes and a roster of additional artists join us to contribute on a project basis.
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Alice Sheppard (she/her) is the Founder and Artistic Director of renowned disability arts ensemble Kinetic Light. A Bessie award-winning choreographer, Sheppard creates movement that challenges conventional understandings of disabled and dancing bodies. Engaging disability arts, culture, and history, she is intrigued by the intersections of disability, gender, and race. In addition to performance and choreography, Sheppard is a sought-after speaker and has lectured on topics related to disability arts, race and dance. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, in academic journals, and the anthology Disability Visibility, edited by Alice Wong. She is a Disability Futures Fellow, a joint initiative of the Mellon Foundation and Ford Foundation, a MacDowell Fellow, and a United States Artists and Creative Capital grantee. In 2025, she, along with Laurel Lawson, won the Knight Choreography Prize from the National Center for Choreography-Akron.