EMBEDDING ACCESS INTO EVERYDAY LIFE, ARTS PRACTICE + PERFORMANCE

Laura is a dance artist specialising in inclusive, immersive and experimental performance integrating access as artistic form. Founder of Running Blind Dance, collaborating with blind and deafblind communities since 2015. This collaborative project has been developing and expanding the creative potential of audio-description to enrich and support access to dance practice and performance for visually impaired and blind people.  

Through her research and ongoing collaboration with the Deafblind community Laura has developed ways of integrating social haptic communication models and pro-haptic forms as both a practical non-verbal way of communicating and as a choreographic tool in the creation of professional production contexts. 

Parallel to her ongoing research within the community, Laura completed a professional audio description training led by Arts Disability Ireland, Minds Eye Audio Description Training, The Lir Academy, supported by Dublin Dance Festival.

She has been developing new ways of making the visual art of dance accessible to people with visual impairment through audio and haptic communication since 2015 and created the first inclusive dance performances for audiences with visual impairment in 2017 during her residency at RUA RED.

​Access and Inclusion Trainings

Laura works with communities, artists, producers, cultural venues and festivals to design engaging and informative access and inclusion trainings that supports ease of access and engagement for visually impaired and deafblind audiences and communities to arts and cultural spaces, venues and events.

Access Training includes discursive, practical and experiential learning that provides a deeper understanding and perspective of the needs and ways of supporting people with visual impairment and deafblindness. Training takes place over one day on-site and require advance meetings and site-visit.

Audio Description

Laura works collaboratively with artists and cultural venues to provide audio description services that facilitate and enrich visually impaired audiences experience through:

• Dramaturgy during the creation and development of new work, performance or event planning

• Artist mentoring

• Venue consultancy

• Interactive touch tours of- gallery spaces, exhibitions, stage set before performances

• Know-before-you-go audio access guides and resources for visitors to arts, heritage and cultural places of interest

• Live audio description during performances, conferences and cultural events

• Haptic description services bespoke to an individual/ communities needs to enhance an experience to be more visceral, embodied and informative through social haptic touch methods and communication models

​Learn more-

Inclusive Dance Trainings for working with people with VI and deafblindness

About Running Blind, founded in 2015: www.runningblind.ie

Laura’s artistic practice: www.laurasarahdowdall.com

Recent collaborative inclusive work, presentations and trainings include:

– Dance Artist Residency Award, (2026- Arts Council of Ireland)
– Create Artist in the Community Awards (2023, 2024, 2026)
– Vision Global Conference (2024)
– Inclusive Dance tutor (UCC/Firkin Crane, 2023)
– Guest Artist MOVE ME! Festival (NL – 2023)

Contact Laura to learn more: laura@runningblnd.ie