By spotlighting disabled performers, Bay Area company AXIS Dance challenges conventional thinking about movement

The dance world has often based its plaudits on how spectacularly performers can defy gravity with leaps, kicks and twirls. But a handful of wheelchairs, some roller skates and a trapeze helped a Berkeley-based troupe flip antiquated and ableist conceptions of athletic ability and athleticism on their head.

By pairing disabled dancers with able-bodied performers, AXIS Dance Company began shifting attention away from impossible feats to the art of what’s possible.

The group’s unique exploration of dance ...