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Dance Revolutionary Mary Verdi Fletcher - Boss Lady of CLE
29 Plays6 days ago
This month's guest is pioneering artist, advocate, and cultural leader, Mary Verdi Fletcher. Mary is a nationally celebrated pioneer in physically integrated dance and a leading voice for disability rights in the arts. As President and Founding Artistic Director of the Dancing Wheels Company & School, she has spent over four decades reshaping the landscape of American dance, championing access, artistry, and equity for performers of all abilities.
One of the first professional wheelchair dancers in the U.S., Mary founded Dancing Wheels in 1980, followed by a groundbreaking school in 1990, which quickly became a global hub for inclusive dance training. Under her leadership, the company has performed for over 6 million people, developed a repertory of 100+ works, and toured internationally, educating communities on the power and beauty of integrated dance.
Mary's contributions extend far beyond performance. She played a pivotal role in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 and led efforts that secured public transportation access nationwide—earning her the nickname “The Rosa Parks of Cleveland.” She was also instrumental in establishing Ohio’s personal care assistance program, promoting independent living for thousands.
Her advocacy has garnered numerous accolades, including an Emmy Award, the Cleveland Arts Prize Lifetime Achievement Award, the Governor’s Award for Arts Education in Ohio, and national honors from Dance/USA. She has served on key arts and disability boards and committees, influencing cultural policy and arts education nationwide.
Mary continues to innovate through virtual programs, teacher certification initiatives, and upcoming publishing projects, ensuring that access to the arts remains a right—not a privilege. Her legacy is a profound testament to how one individual can change laws, perceptions, and possibilities for generations to come.
OhioDance A State of Dance is a six-part series coming out the fourth Friday of each month through November 2025. This podcast is driven by the OhioDance mission to secure the foothold of dance in Ohio through increasing visibility, firming viability, and elevating the position of dance in Ohio.
In 2016, a five-person team set out on a mission to capture the achievements of persons and institutions who have shaped the intricate diversity of dance history and practice within the state of Ohio and weave them together in an easily accessible digital format. This we call the OhioDance Virtual Dance Collection. As of 2025 we have highlighted 42 individuals and institutions. The team has traveled over 5000 miles and interviewed hundreds of individuals in all five regions of Ohio. vdc.ohiodance.org
If you like what you are listening to and are not a member of OhioDance, you can go to ohiodance.org and click the membership button to join and receive the many benefits that come with your membership. You can also donate through our purple donate button.
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Transcript
Introduction to 'A State of Dance' Podcast
00:00:07
Speaker
Welcome to A State of Dance, sponsored by OhioDance and hosted by independent choreographer and interdisciplinary artist, Rodney Veal.
00:00:22
Speaker
Welcome to A State of Dance, sponsored by Ohio Dance and hosted by Roddy Veal, an independent choreographer and interdisciplinary artist. The podcast is partially based on the Ohio Dance Virtual Dance Collection, an interactive website that documents and preserves the achievements of individuals and institutions who have shaped the diversity of dance history and practice in Ohio.
Meet Mary Verity Fletcher: A Pioneer in Dance
00:00:43
Speaker
Today, i would love to welcome, as our guest, Mary Verity Fletcher, who is the president and founding artistic director of the Dancing Wheels Company. She's been a pioneering force in the development and success of physically integrated dance worldwide for over four decades.
00:01:00
Speaker
The company is composed of professional stand-up and sit-down dancers and tours globally, presenting works from nationally acclaimed choreographers. The School of Dancing Wheels embraces inclusive arts programming, reaching over 7,000 children and adults with disabilities and economic challenges each and every year.
00:01:18
Speaker
And Mary, it is such a delight. We always talk at the Ohio Dance Festival, but now we get to kind of talk in a formal way on the podcast, and I love it. Yes, thanks. So welcome to the podcast. Thank you for having me. It's a great pleasure.
00:01:31
Speaker
Oh, it's a pleasure's all ours because you're such an amazing person. And so, Mary, I know you've been at this for over four decades. Yeah, 44 years. Which is absolutely amazing. and How did you select the name of your company and how did this come about? It's a beautiful name for a company.
00:01:46
Speaker
Well, thank you. Actually, i didn't think of the name. a good friend of mine, whose husband was one of my first dance partners, she came up with the name. She said, oh my, your wheels are dancing. And then we said, well, let's just call it Dancing Wheels.
00:02:04
Speaker
You get inspiration from everyone who was observing. They were feeling the spirit. Yeah, for sure. It's a unique name. Oftentimes we've talked about even whether the name is appropriate now because we have both stand-up and sit-down
The Growth and Influence of Dancing Wheels Company
00:02:19
Speaker
dancers. We decided that ah we would expand it to be the Dancing Wheels company and school so that people understand it's a full company comprised of both disabled and non-disabled dancers as well.
00:02:34
Speaker
ah So I have a question. Did you start the company or the school first? The company. The company came first. and So how long was the company in place before the school? Well, it was a small company initially. So 1980 that came about.
00:02:48
Speaker
And we became connected with Cleveland Ballet. So we did all of their outreach and educational programs. I think it was 1998. So the more we were out performing and doing lecture performances and assembly programs in the schools, the more people were inquisitive about how they could be a part of it.
00:03:11
Speaker
So the development of the company expansion came as people saw it, and then they wanted to learn how to do it. So then the school came about approximately 1990-ish.
00:03:27
Speaker
By that time, we were in the Cleveland Ballet Studios and using a space that they had granted us. And people from all over the country would come and take class with us.
00:03:41
Speaker
Well, that's amazing. and That's such a rich exploration journey. Yes. It's also extending the philosophy of the company. Yes. Then giving it kind of that meat to the bone, so to speak, you know.
00:03:54
Speaker
Yeah, and seeing is believing. So it was such a new concept at the time. You know, back in 1980, people in wheelchairs predominantly weren't doing things like dancing.
Revolutionizing Dance: Innovation and Inclusion
00:04:06
Speaker
And even the wheelchairs were very what we consider archaic now because they were very heavy and had a lot of attachments that they didn't necessarily need.
00:04:17
Speaker
And it was a really new concept. But the more people saw it, the more they were not only inspired to be a part of it, but they saw dance in a new light.
00:04:28
Speaker
They saw that it could be a lot of different things. So just because in the past, dance was just something on your two feet, They saw that it was depth and breadth of movement using the wheels and the feet together.
00:04:45
Speaker
It's amazing to see and watch. I've always loved the fact that your company has been a part of the Ohio Dance Festival. And it's it's such a pleasure as an audience member to watch and see. Thank you. it really is.
00:04:55
Speaker
Yeah. Early on, people thought, oh, it's like a flash in the pan. In fact, one funding source said, well, how many ways can you do this? you know and And so I will tell you, we have a hundred works, over a hundred works in our repertory now. So there's at least a hundred plus ah ways that we can do this.
00:05:17
Speaker
It's not just a hundred different ways, it's a hundred different distinctive choreographic voices. And your company has worked with some of the most renowned artists
Collaborations with Renowned Artists
00:05:26
Speaker
working. Donald Byrd, Donald McHale, David Rouseve, Diane McIntyre, Dennis Nahat, Keith Young, Ben Vereen, Christopher Reeve, David Dorfman. The list is huge.
00:05:38
Speaker
so Can you share like what drew them as artists want to work with your company? Donald McHale and I met back in the Cleveland ballet days. And he was a lovely man very uplifting kind of spirit. And so he loved what we were doing way back then.
00:05:56
Speaker
So we kept in communication. I'm known as being pretty persistent. I've been contacting him. And not too many years ago, found a time that he and i could come together. this he was in his eighty s And he said, sure, let me come out. And he wasn't really creating new works at that time in his stage of his career.
00:06:21
Speaker
But he said, for all the years that I've been choreographing, I've never had the pleasure to create in this way. And so he said, this taught me something about how expansive my choreography could be.
00:06:37
Speaker
And a lot of choreographers have said this has taught them more about their vocabulary in dance that they had ever perceived possible.
00:06:48
Speaker
And Donald did Far East of the Blues. And it was such a pleasure. was such a swanky piece. I it. Yeah. And it was performed live with the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra.
00:07:04
Speaker
And it was a whole evening of jazz that was created. But of course, his piece was the centerpiece for the concert. That is just amazing. And I love the fact that you talked about the choreographers being challenged to expand their vocabulary, because it goes to your point about funders saying, well, how much can you really do? like, a lot. And then some.
00:07:24
Speaker
This notion that these artists at this caliber are changed in the process, as well as your company and your dancers. How do your dancers interact with these people? And what are they taking from the experience?
Diversity in Dance: Embracing All Backgrounds
00:07:34
Speaker
It's a repertory company.
00:07:36
Speaker
So our goal is to have a wide and diverse repertory of works. They come in with their basic educational knowledge, and most of them are chosen for their abilities in a lot of genres of dance.
00:07:52
Speaker
Some of our wheelchair dancers have come on board and had very little experience in dance because, of course, we know the preconceived idea was not open to them.
00:08:06
Speaker
and So they didn't learn at a very early age if they were, say born with their disability. I just happened to break through the right. rakes of that. But we do have some wheelchair users that have dance experience prior to their injury.
00:08:24
Speaker
So for instance, DeMarco had been a hip hop dancer before he was injured. And he had always wanted to learn greater technique in, say, ballet, even as a non-disabled hip hop dancer.
00:08:40
Speaker
So this gave him the tools to look at dance differently, to garner the experience of learning how to do ballet as a sit-down dancer, and also taking his hip-hop experience and applying it to now being a sit-down dancer and what he could do in the chair and out of the chair and with his expertise as a true artist. He's a beautiful mover.
00:09:10
Speaker
Oh, he absolutely is. It's really interesting that it's not just those who are in chairs and those who are standing. It's the diversity of the experiences of a life yeah as well and how you come into these different intersectionalities.
Fostering an Inclusive Dance School
00:09:23
Speaker
And I just love how you've incorporated that into the process. It's just just a lovely.
00:09:29
Speaker
And some of our stand-up dancers may have other disabilities, perhaps sensory or intellectual at some points. You know, we look at how the company can be a wellspring of not only danceability, if you will, but also connecting with each other as community. That's great. So we're going to take a little short pause. And we come back, I have a couple more questions for you Mary.
00:09:57
Speaker
Great. Thank you.
00:10:06
Speaker
We want to remind you that if you like what you're listening to and are not a member of OhioDance, you can go ohiodance.org and click the membership button to join and receive the many benefits that come with your membership.
00:10:18
Speaker
You can also donate through our purple donate button.
00:10:31
Speaker
All right, we are back with the Ohio dance State of Dance podcast with Mary Rarity Fletcher, President and Artistic Director of Dancing
Leadership and Recognition in Dance
00:10:40
Speaker
Wheels. Mary, you have won awards for your dedication to education and performance of physically integrated dance.
00:10:48
Speaker
You've been featured in the New York Times bestseller in the Company of Women by author Kushwat Singh and recently in this publication, Boss Ladies of CLE, Stories from 20 Leading Women in Their Own Words by Maggie Sullivan.
00:11:02
Speaker
I absolutely love boss lead because that just describes you perfectly. but You are a boss, but but in the best sort of way. But also for 44 years, what makes you successful is being the boss lead.
00:11:16
Speaker
I think staying the course is something that all captains of the ship do, right? You have to keep your eye on the target. I think that listening is an important aspect as our communities change and the needs of our community change too. So listening to how we as artists can contribute.
00:11:38
Speaker
and inspire people and uplift people in so many different ways. I really look to other leaders so that I could learn from them. There's some really great teachers. and What makes them a good teacher is that they make you want to move. It's kernels of what helps leaders be leaders. And so you have to always keep learning. Absolutely. And I think in that process of learning, you're teaching by example.
00:12:11
Speaker
I think your example is the most exemplary. I love it when I say truly are a boss lady, and I love you for that. because i think that's the coolest place to be. I'm trying to be a boss man, but...
00:12:22
Speaker
It's not easy. it isn't. Because sometimes you also have soft spot. You're a kind person. So being a leader doesn't always mean that you have to be so totally strict.
00:12:34
Speaker
There are times where you have to have the empathy of the others as well. And that shows and the presentation of the work. It's so richly human. Your leadership is so based in humanity and it's just a joy to be around. Thank you. then that's And that's really critical in this day and age. And so what would you say to someone who may not think that there's a place or a role within the arts for the diversity of voices?
Activism for Disability Rights
00:13:01
Speaker
What would you say to them about your experiences? Well, you know, and I've lived it too. So I lived in a time where people with disabilities were looked upon as second class citizens.
00:13:12
Speaker
I lived in a time where we couldn't even get on buses. We have a piece that David Rousseff created called Walking on Clouds. And it's the comparison between the African-American and disabled rights communities.
00:13:26
Speaker
And he expanded it further to the gay and lesbian movement too, where we all suffered at a time in our communities where we were not accepted or not given equal rights. And we still are. There's times now. But we had that in common. We were not different from one another in our quest for equality.
00:13:48
Speaker
Our voices in terms of dance have to give our history at times. We have to let people know what it was like before and where we have to go in the future. Absolutely. And so this next question is a big question. As the president of the Advocates for Disabled Ohioans organization, you led a statewide advocacy effort that bused 100 individuals with disabilities to the state capitol to give testimony on behalf of a piece of legislation, ultimately leading to a statewide personal care assistance program.
00:14:23
Speaker
This legislation was the catalyst that allowed for the deinstitutionalization and independent lifestyle for thousands of Ohioans with disabilities. You along with others also took a militant stand to ensure equal opportunities for people with disabilities who want to ride public transportation.
00:14:39
Speaker
This action led to making every public bus to the nation accessible to everyone as you are finally called the Rosa Parks of Cleveland. This is amazing. And to your point, more of this needs to be done.
00:14:52
Speaker
And I love the word militant. Which it isn't militant, it's just you're asking for human rights. Rights, exactly. Equal human rights.
00:15:02
Speaker
So talk to us about this. We call the Rosa Parks of Cleveland. You must have really pushed that boss lady. and You're just like, oh no. And I was very young when all that happened. I was about 23 years old.
00:15:13
Speaker
three years old And i was amongst others with disabilities. I didn't do it myself, but for years we had gone to the public transportation and requested that they look for buses that would be made accessible because we could not get on main lane buses. We could not take a bus anywhere.
00:15:34
Speaker
They had door to door service, but there was a three year waiting list. So if you didn't drive and you wanted to go somewhere, there was three years in the waiting to do that.
00:15:46
Speaker
So we gave testimony for quite a few years. And then finally, we became associated with a group called ADAPT. And they were known for some of the...
00:15:58
Speaker
quote unquote, militant actions of the African-American community and women's rights. So they taught us how to protest on the streets. You go out on a one-way street in downtown Cleveland during rush hour, during lunchtime, and a bus will come down the one-way street and they'll stop at a red light and you go out in front of the bus.
00:16:23
Speaker
And we had a group of about nine people, wheelchair users and stand-ups. And our non-disabled friends went on the bus and told the driver to turn the bus off and that the people on the bus should depart because the bus wasn't going to go anywhere.
00:16:44
Speaker
So they did, and the bus stayed there. And they said, you'll see about 15 minutes later, another bus will come right next to that bus on this one-way street. You go in front of that bus and do the same thing.
00:16:57
Speaker
So we did. And we held up traffic at lunch hour. And then the police came. We had called the media, too, in advance of that because basically it was time for us to do this.
00:17:10
Speaker
And the police came. And they were going take us away in a paddy wagon, but the paddy wagon wasn't accessible. they couldn't take us away. So they brought one of the door to door buses and I said, so you can take us to jail, but you can't take us to work or to school. wow And they drove that thing off as quick as you could you say. And the jails weren't accessible either.
00:17:37
Speaker
So they wanted to lock us up in the hospital.
00:17:42
Speaker
So this David Roseff piece that we have that I referred to as Walking on Clods tells that whole story. And it parallels what happened to Rosa Parks as well.
00:17:53
Speaker
And it was a moment in time i will never forget. but was so scary. And you didn't know the outcomes that were going to happen. But staying your course, staying steadfast to what we believed in.
00:18:07
Speaker
And now every bus in Cleveland is accessible. And, you know, we were just nine people, but the power of the voice and the power of being steadfast.
00:18:18
Speaker
And that happened all over the country. I must say we were filmed by the FBI in Washington. Okay. I'm like, okay. Okay. Who doesn't have an FBI file just by the way? Right. You know, one year we went to Russia for 24 hours. This was quite a few years ago when things were a little bit better.
00:18:39
Speaker
And i only had 24 hours because I had to come back and perform. So we went there, we came back, we were invited to be guests at this big integrated festival.
00:18:51
Speaker
And so we came home and the FBI came again. And this guy looked like Mr.
International Advocacy and Legacy
00:19:00
Speaker
Rogers, you know, with the sweater and the ball thing.
00:19:04
Speaker
And he's like, oh, so did you go out of the country? And he knew all the answers, but he was asking us, you know. And they said, oh, did anybody come back with you? We're like, no. And we're all in leotards, right? Because we're rehearsing when he came. And I said, well, we're just dancers. And he goes, oh, I know all about you.
00:19:24
Speaker
That is absolutely amazing. i just And that's probably the reason why you are the boss lady of Cleveland. You are influencing and and impacting the world, the world, not just Cleveland, not just Ohio.
00:19:38
Speaker
The conviction by which you pursue this is so... inspiring. And it's beyond inspiration. It really is. It's a call to arms. It's that we should all be this courageous, this defiant, that that our humanity matters in the art making process. And you embody that and your company does as well. So that's how I feel. I'm a fan boy. Thank you. ah I acknowledge that. I really do. And I love being able to tell you that.
00:20:07
Speaker
Well, thank you. And you know, my grandmother said you were born with a tear in your eye and a smile on your face. So I knew you were here to do something special.
00:20:19
Speaker
That is the perfect way to end this. Mary, thank you so much for this conversation. oh thank you so much too.
00:20:28
Speaker
A State of Dance is produced by OhioDance and hosted by Rodney Veal. Executive producer Jane D'Angelo, editor and audio technician Jessica Cavender. Musical composition by Matthew Peyton Dixon. OhioDance would like to thank our funders, the Ohio Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ohio State University Dance Preservation Fund, the Greater Columbus Arts Council, the Columbus Foundation, and the Akron Community Fund.