Dancer to induce epileptic seizure as performance

[briony]

i can't post links because im new but if you type "Briton to induce epileptic seizure as performance" into google then you'll see what this post is about!

i found this on yahoo news and it made my blood run cold!

she's downplaying how serious epilepsy actually is! this won't raise awareness, this makes seizures and epilepsy look like a joke. it undoes all the work people have put in to raising awareness in trying to show that epilepsy is a chronic condition that people need to take seriously. not only that, there is enough stigma surrounding people with epilepsy without her adding to it by doing something as stupid as this. it's disgusting.

(i apologise beforehand if there is already a thread on this topic)

xxx

[Rae1889]

Hi there
Her name is Rita Marcola, and If you search the thread "A step too far" you can see that it made quite a few people on here blood run cold. I being one of them.

[Nakamova]

Hi Briony, and welcome to CWE!

You can contact the arts council, and the artist herself via e-mail. I heard back from the council saying they had forwarded my comments to their press officer. It may end up in their trash but at least they know people are upset.

Best,
Nakamova

[briony]

hiya

i did some research last night for address and the like, i have drafted a letter up to send to Rita herself and am working on one for the Arts Council. I'm also going to contact Epilepsy Action, and see if more can be done.

After reading other posts on this topic, I'm so pleased to see that people aren't just getting angry and moaning about it, but they are acting on their feelings and standing up for themselves!!! loads of people have said that they have emailed the arts council and making them aware that this is unacceptable. I'm really proud of everyone

x

[Chris515]

Hey Briony, welcome to CWE.

I sent a letter to the Arts Council and to Rita as well.

I have heard nothing from Rita, and I got the same response from the Arts Council as Nakamova.

A lot of us here were furious when the news came out about her performance... that's for sure.

[briony]

i just hope that they will take notice of us! but i'll be spending the next few days thinking if there is any more we can do, just in case.

When i found out about this i was so angry. it's incredibly selfish. it's clearly not just a few people upset about this, as the news has got all around the world!

xx

[Rae1889]

I too have recieved the generic message from the council, and nothing yet from rita. I even asked to answer a few basic questions like what kind of seizures she has, what meds she took etc, and nothing yet.

[Bernard]

Let's keep the discussion going in the original thread:

http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/...-too-far-8027/