Dedicated to the integration and inclusion of people with disabilities in dance and society
ZCO / DANCE PROJECT & NYCITY ARTIST CORPS
ZCODP is excited to share that we are a part of the #CityArtistCorps! This $5,000 award was created to ACTIVATE & ENERGIZE NYC’s ARTISTS & ENGAGE THE PUBLIC with arts activities.
ZCODP...ALWAYS TURNING SETBACKS INTO COMEBACKS!!
BREAKING NEWS!!
ZCO DANCE PROJECT
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“On behalf of the Artistic Group "Dryades en Plo" and the Organizing Committee of the Festival I would like to thank you for your presence in the Artistic - Scientific Committee of the 4th International Festival of Disability and Non-IDFD Dance. Both your active participation and your moral support were invaluable for organizing this institution for the 4th time internationally and for the 8th consecutive year at the national level.
Your fervent support for the purposes of the “Dryades en plo” fills us with enthusiasm and optimism for future actions, in which we know we will be united!”
VirgoImage Presents
"The Bigger Plans Project"
featuring Zazel Chavah O'Garra
Check Out the Video Below!!
Also check out Zazel's feature in Urbanista Magazine!
Click Here
What Our Supporters are Saying
"Joyful and uplifting, O’Garra’s Company, ZCO/DANCE PROJECT, confirms what it means to be human. Whether you are part of the disability community or just looking for an inspirational theatrical dance performance, you will find this a not-to-be-missed experience."
-Vivian Cary Jenkins, Inside/Out: Voices from the Disability Community
-Vivian Cary Jenkins, Inside/Out: Voices from the Disability Community
"I have attended every amazing performance featuring the ZCO/DANCE PROJECT. What an incredible dance company spearheaded by a wonderful and selfess talent, Zazel O'Gara. It is a showcase of courage, vulnerability, and trust. An audacious collaboration of strength and freedom. As each artist shares their story and wears their joy, each member understanding of their own humanity. The ZCO Dance Project is awe-inspiring! And I look foward to their next performance as they, once again, invite us to love one another, soul-to-soul."
-Jacqueline Jones, Flower Designer, Owner of Gardens Blooms
-Jacqueline Jones, Flower Designer, Owner of Gardens Blooms
"Zazel O'Garra is a true inspiration! It begins with Ms. O'Garra's personal
story of her tenacity and overcoming obstacles. What she has created with
her company is equally inspiring. She and her company embody the joy of
movement and tell an authentic human story with their bodies. It makes you
rethink your perceptions about what is dance and what makes a dancer.
The dancers in the ZCO/DANCE PROJECT with their full potential, and
they express so much more with their bodies and spirits than a perfect
pirouette or arabesque can. My friends and I cried tears of joy during the
performance."
-Sherry Kohn, Nurse Practitioner
story of her tenacity and overcoming obstacles. What she has created with
her company is equally inspiring. She and her company embody the joy of
movement and tell an authentic human story with their bodies. It makes you
rethink your perceptions about what is dance and what makes a dancer.
The dancers in the ZCO/DANCE PROJECT with their full potential, and
they express so much more with their bodies and spirits than a perfect
pirouette or arabesque can. My friends and I cried tears of joy during the
performance."
-Sherry Kohn, Nurse Practitioner
"I watched a performance by an amazing group of performers. Within minutes, I knew I was in for something I never would have imagined. Initially, I saw people with disabilities…. Five minutes later, looking at those same people, I saw grace, beauty, skill, and strength. I was mesmerized by the many dancers and their routines that were truly inspiring and extremely entertaining. What happened to the disabilities? They faded away and all I say was “abilities!” The ZCODANCEPROJECT was one of the best dance performances I have ever attended. The performers are true superstars. I would go even further and say they are “superheroes,” who inspire all those who have the good fortune to see them in person or on film."
-John Johnson, Mental Health Advocate
Leader - NAMI -National Alliance on Mental Health
-John Johnson, Mental Health Advocate
Leader - NAMI -National Alliance on Mental Health
"I was profoundly moved by watching Zazel and her company perform, all of whom live with some form of disability. The combination of vulnerability, longing, grief, joy, connection, solidarity, humor, poetry, and ecstasy was very powerful. I have some limitations, both physical and internal, and often get frozen or feel defeated about them, and this performance reminded my soul that it wants to dance and soar in whatever way it can. This was the troupe’s first in-person performance since the pandemic started, and I learned that they did much of their practicing together over these many months via Zoom, which is a huge feat!"
-Deborah Knox, Cultivating Conscious Leaders
-Deborah Knox, Cultivating Conscious Leaders
"A truly enlivened duet entitled “Episodes of the Soul-RECOVERY” by Zazel Chavah O'Garra performed with Wendy Ann Powell was a dynamic return from intermission. Exclaiming, “immigration!” and “why are you looking at me like that?” the dancers embodied a rich vitality. Utilizing a combination of seated and standing movement, they created elegant conjoined lines. Embraces and clasped hands matched the intensity of the opening sound, which abruptly changed to an upbeat track halfway through; the dancers’ tone shifted instantly to match it. One dancer helped the other remove their leg brace, a cane was tossed aside, and in an exhibition of real, honest joy and strength, they danced with conviction to the beat while the audience clapped along. The work concluded with more exclamations, some repeated– “immigration,” “why are you looking at me like that?” and some new– “...freedom? America…?” with a questioning tone. Radical joy, to be sure, while decisively acknowledging the painful, contradictory, and confusing circumstances of the present socio political moment."
-Hannah Beth Lieberman, Dance Maker and Writer
-Hannah Beth Lieberman, Dance Maker and Writer