Inclusion and the Arts

All About Dogs is an immersive, participatory performance celebrating the way we take care of dogs and the way they take care of us. It is also about the quest for meaningful work.

All About Dogs brings MVLE core members with intellectual and developmental disabilities and professional performers to the stage. This mixed-ability casting allows everyone to perform at their peak. To create this year’s show, director Margot Greenlee invited dog care professionals to join the rehearsal process. Cast members interviewed a veterinarian, a dog groomer, a therapy dog trainer, an agility dog trainer, an animal shelter volunteer, and a police canine trainer. These interviews inform the dances, songs and short scenes that make up All About Dogs. The performance highlights the way people with disabilities may be well-suited for dog care professions.The 2018 Season of All About Dogs included touring throughout Northern Virginia  at venues such as Sully Senior Center, Stacy C. Sherwood Community Center, and the GMU Hylton Performing Arts Center.

MVLE, Inc. is a nonprofit whose mission is to create futures one person at a time for individuals with disabilities through community-based employment and support services. The MVLE Moves program provides weekly performing arts education and movement therapy for over 150 individuals.

For questions about MVLE or the performance, please contact Sarah Caldwell at 703-337-4846 or Sarah.Caldwell@mvle.org.

Performances made possible in part by: National Endowment for the Arts; Virginia Commission for the Arts; Arts Council of Fairfax County; Wells Fargo Foundation; Rea Charitable Trust; Express Lanes Foundation

Read a review of All About Dogs

Click here for All About Dogs Press Release