Full Radius presents “Walking on My Grave”

“People are sometimes shocked by the level of physicality we exhibit on stage,” says Douglas Scott, artistic director of Full Radius Dance. “Audience members may come in with a preconceived notion that because someone uses a chair they’re delicate and they must be treated with kid gloves. But these are dancers. These are people just like anyone else. That’s what we really explore and celebrate on stage.”

Surprising audiences with the physicality of dancers is the goal of nearly every dance company, but what makes Full Radius unique in Atlanta is that they work within the field of what’s called “physically integrated art.” “What that means is that half my company is in wheelchairs due to various disabilities,” says Scott.

Scott was originally a dancer who became intrigued with the idea of working with and choreographing works with dancers whose bodies were nothing like his own. A series of workshops led to teaching in the field and eventually forming his own company. Full Radius has performed physically integrated pieces in Atlanta since 1995, and has toured as far as California, and in 2009 they even made their first international stops in a series of shows in three cities in Italy.