A headshot of Audre. She is an olive-toned white person with light blonde and dark brown hair. She is in front of a navy blue background, smiling with her head tilted slightly to the right. Audre wears a black v-neck jumpsuit accessorized with a gold and opal necklace. Photo by Liam Cotter.
Audre grew up in Boise, Idaho, then attended Bennington College where she majored in neuroscience and dance, and minored in chemistry. She is currently based in Brooklyn, NY
Audre co-founded and co-directs Hyp-ACCESS alongside L Tuthall. Hyp-ACCESS launched in response to the extreme care neglect Hyps (Hypermobile people) face in every body-based field. Audre and L are currently embarking on a journey to pilot a new model of healthcare in NYC. If you would like to learn more, please reach out. www.hyp-clinic.org (in-progress).
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Audre makes performance navigating experiences and histories of Hypermobile disability and accessibility to confront the very systems that exploit and fetishize connective tissue differences for aesthetics of notoriety and “wellness/health”. She is interested in the interconnectedness of Hypermobile exploitation in the arts to the medicalization of disability. Audre is currently an Activist in Residence with New Yorkers 4 Culture and Arts (NY4CA).
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Audre began leading her own scientific research in 2014, and has published and has presented across the US. She has contributed to research at Brain & Spine Surgeons of New York (NYC, NY, USA), Ecole Normale Superieure (Paris, France), the Brain and Creativity Institute (Los Angeles, CA, USA), and NYU Langone Neurology (NYC, NY).
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Audre co-developed the only hypermobility-specific therapy: Hypermobile Accessible Proprioceptive Therapy (HAPT), currently under consideration for a clinical trial. She presents internationally and teaches in Brooklyn, NY and on Zoom.
Press
“Thrown For a Loop, Dancers Try to Regain Their Balance” Erin O’Brien, Bedford + Bowery
All Issues Are Disability Issues press conference
“Audre Wirtanen with Nora Raine Thompson” Brooklyn Rail
“AUDIENCE REVIEW: On Audre Wirtanen’s DX ME FIX ME, on spinning, on thinking your way out of your body” Dance Enthusiast