Solo on Crutches

The Choreographer

The Solo on Crutches is the creation of performance artist Bill "the CrutchMaster" Shannon, who is known for his "Shannon technique" of dancing on crutches. This technique is a melding of skateboarding and street dancing styles with the use of modified underarm crutches.

Shannon was diagnosed with Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease (a painful condition affecting the development of the hips) at the age of five. He often travels around using crutches to push himself on a skateboard to ease the pain in his hips.

He was originally asked to perform in Varekai, but declined. Certainly the grueling schedule of a touring show (up to ten shows a week) would be difficult for him to maintain with his condition.... and he is also an individualist. So he agreed to choreograph a dance in his style for the show instead.

Bill Shannon can be seen live performing his own mixed-media shows such as "Sketchy". (Check his website, www.virtualprovocateur.com for scheduled performances.) You can also catch him in the "Escape" episode of Cirque du Soleil's TV Series "Solstrom".

The Original Version... "Pre-Dergin"

The original version of Varekai's Solo on Crutches was performed by an able-bodied dancer, Vladimir Ignatenkov (known as Vova to his fans). At the start of the dance Icarus is floundering onstage, unable to walk. He cowers as the dark man taunts him with the wings he lost. Ominous figures lurk in the background. The "Limping Angel" approaches Icarus, who pulls away... frightened at first. The dancer reaches out to Icarus, offering encouragement. Then he falls with his crutches extended... in imitation of Icarus's fall.

The dark man now taunts the "Limping Angel" to get up... and he does. He begins to cavort around on his crutches, then falls once more, apparently stricken. The dark man flaps his wings threateningly. Icarus crawls towards the fallen dancer, concern on his face.The ominous figures come closer, like scavengers.

But the dancer rises again, pulling himself up and once more dancing on his crutches. He seems to skate around, balances with both his feet on one crutch and then twirls around supporting himself only on the crutches with his feet far from the ground... a feat that is obviously difficult and somewhat ungainly. His final pose, arms extended, balanced on the crutches gives the impression that he is trying to show Icarus how to fly again.

The Solo "Dergin-Style"

Dergin Tokmak's superior upper body strength and break-dancing style bring an entirely new vitality and meaning to the "Solo on Crutches". His dance is a melding of Bill Shannon's technique and his own powerful energy. When Dergin gets going, he flies!

Where the previous dancer glided and balanced his body in various poses, Dergin throws his body around with breath-taking speed. As a friend told me recently, when you have used crutches every day, they become like a part of your body. Dergin's movements flow with the natural ease of one completely at home on crutches. This dance truly conveys the intended message. He really shows Icarus how to fly!

As you watch, his movements seem too graceful to be true. He flings his body as if weightless, barely landing before he takes off again. He is able to control his right leg somewhat, using it to aid his momentum.

When he goes into a handstand on his crutches it is so incredible you wonder if the way he holds his legs is really just part of the act. Indeed, one of the common debates to be overheard after the show is "is he or isn't he?"

But, of course, the truth is we didn't realize that someone with a disability could be so amazingly talented in a physical art form like dancing. Dergin proves every time he dances that "disabled" is a misnomer. He is quite simply a master of his art!