Interview: Robin Olive of Straight Up Abilities on Becoming a Dancer, Disability Advocate, and Creating an Equitable Arts + Entertainment Sector
Image Credit: Robin Olive, Straight Up Abilities
This Disability Pride Month, Californians for the Arts is proud to uplift and celebrate artists, creative workers, and arts organizations across the spectrum of the arts sector. Communications Assistant, Zuriel G. Ortiz had the privilege of interviewing Robin Olive, creator and dance instructor of Straight Up Abilities(SUPA).
Zuriel: Hi Robin, I would like to start this conversation by asking you to tell me about yourself and how you started your dance career, and how Straight Up Abilities was created.
Robin: I’ve been a dancer my whole life, I started dancing when I was three years old, I’m 47 years old [now]. I moved out to LA in 2003, with the dancer’s dream, I wanted to work in entertainment. I would do anything to work in entertainment: acting, backup dancing. After auditioning for years, I thought, I need to have some regular income, maybe I should be teaching more. And I found this article in the Backstage West’s newspaper looking for dancers that had ballet background to teach dancers with disabilities. I thought that would be a great thing to do in my spare time. I answered the ad and I met a woman named Zina Bethune.
Bethune was a famous Hollywood actress who was one of the first people to start a disabled program and her dance company. When I met her I was like a fish out of water, I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t know if I would be good at it, but I fell in love with teaching. I learned so much from Zina. When Zina passed away, it was unexpected. I continued her classes and some of her relationships that she had already, like her relationships with the Music Center, the Aquarium of the Pacific, and Orange County disability arts and disability program.
When Zina’s nonprofit disbanded, they gave me their blessing, and I told them I could keep these programs going. I wanted to do it with a bit more of my style. I am trained in all styles, but I love hip-hop. So, we created Straight Up Abilities and that’s how we became a nonprofit.
Z: Thank you for sharing that story. I like how you explained your passion for wanting to keep Zina’s company alive in some form. In the arts specifically, we don’t do something just because we like; we do it because we believe artists make change. I think the story of keeping Zina’s legacy alive is so amazing and beautiful. I got chills because that’s someone in the arts sector you collaborated with, learned from, and essentially carry their name on in your organization.
R: This was her passion and she’s an angel for us. We also lost another very important person in the disabled community last year. Her name was Adi Angel, an amazing dancer, who had a horrific accident, but she continued dancing in a wheelchair, and I feel like she’s still helping us behind the scenes also.
Z: You’re right and I agree with you. You shouldn’t do anything in the arts unless you really, really love it because it’s not always going to be easy and glamorous.
At Californians for the Arts, we’re committed to advancing racial and social equity in the arts, learning from community members who have been disadvantaged from US political systems. So what can others do to help dismantle the stereotypes that individuals with special needs and disabilities often face in the arts and entertainment industry?
R: I personally believe that we should all open our hearts and open our minds to understanding different people, different cultures, who may be different from ours. I think when we’re inclusive and diverse, we’ll gain more as a society. It’s never been a problem in my program because we’re fully inclusive, we include everyone. We travel to multiple parts of Los Angeles and outside of Los Angeles. Currently, we have classes in Studio City, Pasadena, El Segundo, Santa Monica, Long Beach and Anaheim.
Z: You said people should be more open-minded, especially in the entertainment industry. Especially now with the strikes happening with the Writers Guild of America, I believe it’s critical for people to be more open-minded and willing to learn about other peoples’ lived experiences working in the entertainment industry.
R: A few years ago, many movie sets created a rule that they had to have a mix number of diverse, and disabled people on their sets. I have seen a huge difference in that sense. This policy has helped my students because people need to see themselves represented, especially my students with down syndrome. I have a student that was on a TV show called Born This Way, and he travels quite often, and he has fans all over the world. I can see the importance of seeing somebody like yourself on screen.
Z: Is that on Hulu by any chance? I think I’ve seen it in my recommendations.
R: I think so. And then shows like Love On the Spectrum. I have a student who was on that show, Danny Bowman, she works with me doing animation.
Z: Thank you for sharing all the great opportunities your students are getting because of your organization and creating this space to dance. I enjoy these interviews because it brings out a humanistic approach to arts and cultural policy. In the arts sector when we’re dealing with policies, we deal a lot with data and facts and sometimes getting a qualitative approach is what I find more impactful. Particularly when we speak with legislators, data is great but we want to see a more human element to these numbers. So I think stories like these are equally important as a number in an excel sheet.
R: I 100% agree.
Z: In what ways does Straight Up Abilities incorporate social justice perspective into its work with people who have special needs or disability?
R: When we started the organization, we started in school assemblies, malls, and festivals. We would teach people about being patient, inclusive, and empathetic; and [then] we break that down into having fun because it’s easier to digest just like data. The more we get out there and spread that message of being inclusive and being empathetic, hopefully everyone will become more inclusive.
I think people, if they don’t know someone with disabilities, they sometimes assume they can’t do very much or they limit them. So I’ve made it my mission to break those stereotypes, and show people their worth. My students have dreams of becoming teachers, being on TV, and performing on stages.
We work with Orange County School District, Magnolia School District, and other School Districts to be able to provide classes inside of public schools in the special ed departments and beyond. These programs are especially important, because sometimes this is the only arts program that these students will receive. And when we can, we like to pair general ed students with the special ed students, so they are able to learn from each other. This year we even were able to pair an at-risk youth group with a special ed group, which I thought was very beneficial for both groups.
Image Credit: Robin Olive, Straight Up Abilities
Z: Can you share a specific story or example that highlights the impact that your organization has had on promoting equity and inclusion?
R: We have grown so much, and I expect we will continue to grow because I personally know the need, and the numbers show that there’s a lot of people that need programs like this. We’re fortunate to have programs like these in Los Angeles, but there are other places in the country that don’t have as many disabled programs.
I created an all star dance team, where we travel and perform as much as possible with 25 of my students with intellectual or physical disabilities.
And they’re young adults, and they have big aspirations of dancing on stage. We performed So we tried to make those things happen. We danced with the Royal Ballet at the Music Center in 2019. The Royal Ballet was a dream of mine, and it’s just one of the most magical experiences I’ve ever had. And they actually invited us to come dance with them in London. So we’re going to try to make that dream come true in 2024–25.
Last year, we flew out to Disney World with our team and we performed at the park and at the Special Olympics World Games. We also performed withAnnabelle Choa at the Music Center, just a week ago.
I’ve been reflecting on all the great opportunities my students are getting and we are witnessing multiple layers of things happening: my students are getting these amazing opportunities, are getting to dance on stage, and perform on stage and have these highlight moments. They’re also getting to hang out with friends. They’re usually around their families, so getting to hang out in friend groups as a young adult is so important for them. They’re getting to travel by themselves, sometimes some experiences that they don’t really ever get to have, they’re getting to feel responsible and independent.
Z: That’s so amazing! It’s stories like these that give people new perspectives on groups of individuals to advance social equity. My next question is: how does your organization pursue these opportunities, performing at Disney World and the Music Center? Is there outreach you have to do on your part that is heavy on your organization. There are times where organizations come into a community to extract information, resources, and knowledge from communities without compensating them; is this something you see happening in your organization when you deal with partnerhsips?
R: In the beginning, especially when I started Straight Up Abilities, I felt like we had to be active and get the word out. It’s been a long process, but now we are moving forward and are seeing some progress. But it is a lot of networking with like-minded organizations, and continuing these relationships with organizations.
We are partnering with The Rollettes for their Rollettes Experience at LAX this week. We’re going to be hosting their dance convention, which is the first convention we are hosting and have ever heard of before. The convention is important because it’s about all of us coming together with other disabled dance programs, and we get to communicate and connect with each other.
We’re lucky in Los Angeles, because there are regional centers who help with funding for programs including: Ed Asner Family Center, Tierra Del Sol, Ability First, and Easterseals.
All these organizations have been doing this a lot longer than me, more than 40 years, so I try to connect with them and pool our resources together. I have students that need to be on scholarship, and then I have students that are paying through regional center money.
Image Credit: Robin Olive, Straight Up Abilities
Z: Looking ahead, what are some of the main challenges and goals that Straight Up Abilities faces in aiming towards its ongoing effort for inclusivity within the performing arts?
R: I think, as a society, we are moving in a really fast positive direction, but I can still see some misconceptions. I hope we can break down those misconceptions and just bring more of an understanding of people with disabilities, especially my students that are autistic. It’s hard, we’re all human, and people need to learn and grow. My students are learning and growing as well. But we do need, as a whole, to become more patient and understanding and especially in a work environment, not everybody is going to work the same way or act the same way. So I feel like it is tough for me to figure out how I can break that barrier, but we’re working on it.
I do want to give my students the opportunity to find more work opportunities outside our dance team, castings, and shows. I want my students to have jobs as dance instructors, or maybe [as] DJs. I want them to have a career in entertainment that is considered a regular job, and not [just] small roles here and there — that’s my goal right now. I have a student whose dream is to be a rapper, so I’m trying to make that happen as a regular career [for them].
Z: Are there any other organizations that you think people should support or are important to highlight that are creating accessibility in the arts?
R: Well the Ed Asner Family Center is a great, Born to Act Players, and Tierra Del Sol. There’s a dance group called Free to Be Me. And Down for Dance, and The Rollettes. This weekend, The Rollettes are doing the big convention at LAX I mentioned earlier. Chelsea Hill from the organization came to me with the idea and putting it together and I was all-in. We took several groups, several soloists, several performers to perform at the talent competition, and the parents were over the moon. The kids had the best time. We won a couple of awards, creating those more elevated experiences for them.
When I first started doing this work, I noticed we were on a back burner. We would go into schools and people would ask what is this that we’re doing. It felt like we were thrown in a closet and were not highlighted as it is now. They would give us the cold shoulder, we would feel like we were in a hospital, and it was unfair how we were treated. I’m working with teenagers and they deserve to have the same experiences as others, so that’s why I wanted to create Straight Up Abilities. When we’re working with kids and teenagers with non-physical and physical disabilities, we believe they deserve to have a dancing experience. That’s why I wanted to create Straight Up Abilities. The kids I work with now are performing for live audiences, have a platform and have the same opportunities as other students.
Z: How can other individuals and organizations participate and support the work that you do at Straight Up Abilities?
R: We’re always looking to network,make new friends, and help people. We support a lot of people at their events, we’ll do their festivals, performances, and perform anywhere, and just make a connection with them. We’re always looking for volunteers. And of course, we always need funds so that we can continue our programs and spread our wings.
Z: Is there anything else you’d like to share with me that you think I missed?
R: No, I think that’s it!
Z: Great, thank you so much for your time, Robin.
It was a great privilege to interview Robin Olive, from Straight Up Abilities and take to heart her commitment to create an accessible arts education for all students in California. As we come to an end of Disability Pride Month 2023, we look forward to collaborating with her dance team, to create an equitable art sector.
Zuriel G. Ortiz is Communications Assistant at Californians for the Arts.
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