Carly Findlay

Writer, speaker, appearance activist. Loving life!

  • About me
  • Say Hello – my book
  • Hire me!
  • Support Me
  • Contact
  • What is Ichthyosis?
  • Ichthyosis + appearance diversity resources
  • Disclaimer
  • Shop
  • Guest post contribution guidelines
  • Growing Up Disabled in Australia

Disability joy – rollerskating with Rodney Bell

January 16, 2023 Carly Findlay Leave a Comment

Carly and Rodney – Carly is rollerskating, Rodney is in his wheelchair, they are both smiling, and reaching into the air, touching hands.

I experienced pure joy on Saturday 8 October! Rodney Bell – Māori and Disabled dancer – came skating with me. He choreographed a short dance – I managed it, even with how little rhythm and coordination I have. It was so fun! 

Still can’t stop smiling when I think of this, and watch the videos back. 

Thank you Rodney for spending time with me; and to Colleen for filming and having fun with us. 

We joked that this is the start of our next Arts Centre Melbourne Alter State performance! 

 Video: Carly and Rodney on the forecourt of Melbourne Museum. The sun is out, sky is blue. Rodney, a wheelchair user, is dancing around Carly, on skates. They are  smiling, moving together and apart, holding hands at times. They hug at the end. The music is Darren Hayes – “all you pretty things”. Lyrics are: “And just for one night

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Carly Findlay OAM (@carlyfindlay)

The world’s heartache seemed to disappear

Under strobe lights

Everyone is beautiful in here

So never forget

And never give up

But don’t ever stop

Keep dancing the pain away

Don’t let the past

Steal from today

As long as we’ve got our memories love remains

We’ve got to

Dance to remember them…”

The cover photo is Carly and Rodney next to each other – smiling, arms stretched out.

(A second video is here.)

Share this:

  • Print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook

Related

Uncategorized

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Copyright © 2026 · Daily Dish Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Loading Comments...

You must be logged in to post a comment.