Marc Brew, a celebrated figure in the global dance community, has shared the harrowing account of the 1997 car crash near Johannesburg that irrevocably altered his life, yet ultimately empowered his artistic voice.
At just 20, the former Pact ballet company member was left paralysed from the chest down after a pickup truck, driven by a drunk man, hurtled onto the wrong side of the road, claiming the lives of his three friends: fellow dancer Joanne, Simon, and 16-year-old Toby.
Brew, who spent three months fighting for his life in a South African hospital, initially woke up to a body he did not recognise, experiencing intense pain and a period of denial before a doctor delivered the devastating news that he would never walk again.
His emotional struggle was compounded by the revelation of his friends’ deaths, leaving him with a profound sense of responsibility as the only one left to survive for them.
Brew, who had moved from Australia to South Africa for his ballet career, eventually returned home, undergoing a horrible, demeaning flight on a stretcher.
The determination that characterised him as a child, when he stuck with dance despite being told he shouldn't because he was a boy, saw him refuse to accept a future without movement.
He was later connected to disability activist Kitty Lunn in New York and began dancing again, developing a virtuoso style reliant on incredible upper body strength and precision.
His most ambitious work to date, ‘An Accident A Life,’ created with choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, tells his story, challenging audiences' perceptions by spending most of the performance on the floor before introducing a wheelchair only in the final moments.
Brew, who moved to London in 2003 and now runs a dance ensemble in Glasgow with his partner Matthew and son Jedidiah, states that his disability has encouraged him to be more creative and adaptable, allowing him to be an artist even though he was told he couldn't.
At just 20, the former Pact ballet company member was left paralysed from the chest down after a pickup truck, driven by a drunk man, hurtled onto the wrong side of the road, claiming the lives of his three friends: fellow dancer Joanne, Simon, and 16-year-old Toby.
Brew, who spent three months fighting for his life in a South African hospital, initially woke up to a body he did not recognise, experiencing intense pain and a period of denial before a doctor delivered the devastating news that he would never walk again.
His emotional struggle was compounded by the revelation of his friends’ deaths, leaving him with a profound sense of responsibility as the only one left to survive for them.
Brew, who had moved from Australia to South Africa for his ballet career, eventually returned home, undergoing a horrible, demeaning flight on a stretcher.
The determination that characterised him as a child, when he stuck with dance despite being told he shouldn't because he was a boy, saw him refuse to accept a future without movement.
He was later connected to disability activist Kitty Lunn in New York and began dancing again, developing a virtuoso style reliant on incredible upper body strength and precision.
His most ambitious work to date, ‘An Accident A Life,’ created with choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, tells his story, challenging audiences' perceptions by spending most of the performance on the floor before introducing a wheelchair only in the final moments.
Brew, who moved to London in 2003 and now runs a dance ensemble in Glasgow with his partner Matthew and son Jedidiah, states that his disability has encouraged him to be more creative and adaptable, allowing him to be an artist even though he was told he couldn't.