Kelsey Peterson shares her story of perseverance in 'Move Me'

[MUSIC PLAYING] INTERVIEWER: July is Disability Pride Month. More than 61 million Americans live with a disability. That's about one in four adults. Here's something else to ponder-- we can all be affected by a disability, be it temporary or permanent, at some point in our lives, especially as we're getting older. Kelsey Peterson is among those whose disability occurred because of an accident. Kelsey was a yoga instructor and dancer who dove into Lake Superior near Madeline Island back in 2012 when she was 27.

She jumped into a shallow spot headfirst and broke her neck in three places. The accident left her paralyzed from the chest down. Kelsey is a dancer, choreographer, writer, and filmmaker, and she co-directed a very personal documentary called Move Me that's been garnering praise at film festivals across the country, including this year's Minneapolis St Paul International Film Festival. Kelsey is on the line.

You had the courage in this movie to talk about the entirety of living with a disability, and I'm glad to see you talked about your sexuality. Very, very few people talk about sexuality and the disabled. Why was that important for you to explore that in this film?

KELSEY PETERSON: I mean my sexuality has always been something that I've been proud of, honestly, and that I've always really enjoyed. And that curiosity and that exploration has been a big part of me enjoying my humanity and digging into who I am as a person more holistically. So I think especially in this political climate, I think it's really important to put it out there that I'm a woman with a disability who enjoys sex.

It's like, how dare you? I feel like not sharing that truth would have been doing a disservice to multiple communities. You know?

INTERVIEWER: Mm-hmm. Why is it such a taboo subject, do you think? Especially when you talk about folks with disabilities.

KELSEY PETERSON: Oh, man. I mean, we could have a conversation about this for a long time. But I think it's one of those really deep, white supremacist, multi-layered, ableistic things where if you don't fit into a certain category, that your sexuality isn't valid and it isn't important, and nobody wants to talk about it, hear about it, or see it. And if I can speak my truth and help break some of those narratives down and build up healthier, more accurate, positive, loving new ones, then I'm going to do that.

INTERVIEWER: By the way, speaking of breaking down barriers, did you also have to run-- or maybe I should say myths, perhaps. Did you have to overcome the-- I think one of my friends who is disabled calls it the super crip myth, that you are almost a superhuman overcoming your disability. Is that something that you had to deal with in this movie?

[LAUGHS]

KELSEY PETERSON: Yeah, I think we all-- those of us with a disability, especially invisible disabilities, deal with that where you're-- there's this other thing called inspiration porn. And it's easy to be put in this one-dimensional box and be seen as this sort of one-dimensional character who isn't human, really. It's dehumanizing.

So I think the more we can have these conversations and serve as a bridge between-- me, personally, trying to serve as a bridge between the able-bodied and disabled worlds will help to, I think, humanize disability and those of us who are constantly trying to prove, like, hey, we're just human living in a different kind of body comparatively speaking.

INTERVIEWER: How healing was it for you to do this film?

KELSEY PETERSON: Very, and really unexpectedly. I didn't know the amount of healing I was going to go through when I did this. And I didn't know the healing that had to be done, right? I think a lot of us, you don't know what you're still needing to understand. You don't know what you don't know. And at the same time, my dad got sick while we were filming. And so I had to process a lot of that.

I don't want to say too much for people who haven't seen the film, but-- so it was like I was grieving, and healing, and going through this big catharsis and therapeutic process throughout production and post-production, which was really beautiful and complicated. And I'm super lucky that I had a team to support me in that so I could bring my most vulnerable self forward.

INTERVIEWER: And by the way, as a yoga instructor, I'm still betting you have a yoga practice. Did that help?

KELSEY PETERSON: Yes. It's interesting. I have a small yoga practice in the morning. And it's definitely one that I'm working on expanding. I'm actually starting to teach again up here on Madeline Island where I live. Because other than Matthew Sanford, whose classes I'm starting to take again, I don't know a lot of people who teach accessible adaptive yoga.

But I think my meditative process was probably the biggest for me. Meditation really helped me stay centered and grounded and open to what I was going through and really listen to myself.

INTERVIEWER: And by the way, Kelsey, for folks who've not seen the film, where can they see it?

KELSEY PETERSON: So we'll be on Independent Lens on November 7.

INTERVIEWER: Good.

KELSEY PETERSON: And other than that, we're going to be at Portland Film Festival in October. So yeah, as of now, those are the options. And hopefully, there will be more soon.

INTERVIEWER: Independent Lens-- that's fantastic. Kelsey, I've appreciated the conversation.

KELSEY PETERSON: Thank you.

INTERVIEWER: I'm so sorry about the technical problems early on in our chat. Thank you so much and best of luck to you.

KELSEY PETERSON: Thank you so much. We're surrendering to the flow. We're going with the flow. It's all good.

INTERVIEWER: That's exactly right. All right. Take care of yourself.

KELSEY PETERSON: Thank you.

INTERVIEWER: Thank you. Kelsey Peterson-- she's the co-director and subject of the documentary film Move Me. She is the co-director, choreographer, and dancer on A Cripple's Dance. That's a live music and dance production featuring differently-abled artists.