Shaped by Candoco: A personal story

I wanted to work in the arts from a very young age. I was still a college student when I witnessed Candoco’s very first performance. This was before the Disability Discrimination Act, before the language of access and inclusion had entered mainstream education or the arts, before disabled artists had anything like the visibility and respect they deserved. What I saw that evening felt genuinely new: a company that understood disability not as something to be worked around, but as a creative force in its own right.

It stayed with me.

Candoco opened doors

In the 1990s, Candoco dance artist Lea Parkinson introduced me to the company’s education programme. That introduction opened doors I hadn’t known existed – to fellow disabled creatives, to new ways of thinking about my own practice, and to a professional world that finally felt as though it might have room for me.

In 1998, I took part in Candoco’s International Summer School at Stoke Mandeville. It was there that I began using my first wheelchair. I want to be clear about what that experience was: not a loss, not a difficulty to be managed, but a genuinely positive, and creative introduction to a new way of moving through the world. The environment Candoco created made that possible.

Through an Arts Council England initiative supported by Candoco, I later joined a national placement and career development scheme for disabled people. That led directly to seven years managing Candoco’s Education and Training programme – years that laid the foundations for everything that followed.

How my career progressed

Since then, I have worked across the arts sector for more than twenty years, nationally and internationally, in roles spanning Education Manager, Arts Producer, Trustee, Chair, Governor and Access Lead. I also had the honour of carrying the 2012 Olympic torch through the streets of Greenwich.

As Access Officer at Sadler’s Wells, I developed an environment and creative access strategy that not only welcomed D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent audiences, but also prioritised professional development and broadened opportunities for participation.

Alongside this, I have served on numerous boards, including as Chair of Graeae Theatre Company, and have campaigned for improved accessibility in West End theatres, as well as providing consultancy for major Lottery-funded redevelopment programmes at the Southbank Centre, the Roundhouse and Sadler’s Wells. I am currently Head of Access at Shakespeare’s Globe and was recently appointed the Cabinet Office’s Disability and Access Ambassador for Arts and Culture.

None of that is a straight line. But Candoco is woven through all of it.

Where I am today

I have now rejoined the company as a Trustee, and I find myself reflecting on what it means to return at this pivotal moment. Candoco is entering an exciting new chapter, demonstrating what becomes possible when disabled artists are placed at the centre of creative leadership. By challenging traditional power structures, commissioning digital work for global audiences, and shifting to a producing model led by disabled choreographers, the company is expanding not only what dance can be, but who it is for.

This work goes beyond access. It is about workforce development, reshaping narratives, and driving lasting systemic change – building inclusive cultures that strengthen creative excellence.

Reframing the narrative

People sometimes ask whether there is still a place for Candoco in today’s industry. My answer is unequivocally: yes. Not out of nostalgia, nor simply because of what the company has meant to me personally, but because there is clear potential to go further – creating work that genuinely opens doors.

Through creative vision and collaboration, we can reframe perceptions of disability in meaningful and lasting ways. By sharing solutions and leading with intent, we can help shape a sector where difference is not merely accommodated, but celebrated.

Candoco has shaped my life in the best possible way, and I am proud to be part of its next chapter.

Sarah Howard is a Trustee on the Board of Candoco, Head of Access at Shakespeare’s Globe and Disability and Access Ambassador for Arts and Culture, Cabinet Office.