A YOUNG Scot who has cerebral palsy is being honoured with a special talent award at an arts festival in India this month.
Fife-based Eilidh Elizabeth Molly McGrath will be presented with the award at a ceremony in Chennai in recognition of her emerging practice as a dance artist and choreographer in Scotland, despite the challenges of living with cerebral palsy – a lifelong condition that affects aspects of movement and co-ordination.
The award also acknowledges the 20-year-old’s contribution to an international project titled Proximus that arts charity Paragon is running with partner organisations in India, Italy and Mexico.
Eilidh told the Sunday National she hoped the film she helped to make would assist others in recognising their potential.
“Hopefully some little girl with a disability will see our film and realise that she can also dance,” she said.
“It shows not only that wheelchair users can dance together with non-wheelchair users, but also that this can be beautiful.
“I think it’s very important for the world to see a wheelchair user and a non-wheelchair user dancing together. When I was younger, wheelchair dancing was a standalone activity separate from dancing.
“Thankfully, we’ve moved on from that now but there are still some who aren’t as comfortable with the idea of mixed body types dancing together.”
For the Proximus project, young emerging disabled artists worked remotely across borders to produce music, dance and film pieces exploring aspects of identity and experiences of disability.
The works have been performed and exhibited internationally, with each organisation now developing adjacent educational projects to reach new audiences.
Under the mentorship of Paragon and choreographer Lisa Simpson, who also has quadriplegia cerebral palsy and no verbal communication, Eilidh developed several pieces of advanced dance, made dance films, led workshops and masterclasses and performed all over Scotland.
She will be recognised alongside disabled artists from the Chennai region, two of whom worked with her on the Proximus project.
“I’m also a very enthusiastic language student, so working with people across the world combined those two great loves of mine,” said Eilidh.
“Learning with Lisa Simpson was very surreal at first because I had read about her in books. But then, as I have cerebral palsy myself, I began to see what my future could look like.”
Paragon’s creative director Ninian Perry will also receive an award at the forthcoming ceremony.
He said: “Witnessing Eilidh’s development as an artist through the Proximus project has been an inspiration, underscoring the immense potential of music and dance to transcend cultural and societal barriers.
“Ultimately, our ability to thrive creatively comes down to the availability of opportunities – at Paragon, we’re committed to ensuring that these exist for everyone on a more equitable basis throughout Scotland.”
