‘I have a fantastic relationship with my cerebral palsy’
Dr Melinda Smith is someone who defies categorisation. Dancer, poet, writer, visual artist, mentor – she wears many hats with passion and purpose.
Melinda describes herself as someone who is always in motion, constantly engaged in creative endeavours. “I am a very motivated person and always have been,” she says.
“I never experience boredom because I can always find something to do.” One of her major projects this year was her one-woman show, Conduit Bodies, which she wrote and performed.
The show debuted in October as part of the Fringe Festival, offering audiences a profound exploration of “the relationship between technology and the body, disability, assistive tech, and the natural world”.
Melinda, who has cerebral palsy, used “airsticks” strapped to her body and wheelchair to transform the performance space into something entirely new – an experience that expanded the boundaries of dance and questioned who it is for.
The “airsticks” are a remarkable piece of wearable tech, translating movement into sound, text and visual effects. Using cutting edge motion tracking and wireless technologies, the “airsticks” gave Melinda complete control over gestural data, making every movement part of an immersive multimedia experience.
The audience could witness the magic of movement directly influencing the performance, offering a transparency that made the show even more compelling. For Melinda, movement is at the core of everything she does. “Movement drives me to every aspect and every activity I do,” she says.
“Dance is important to me, (as is) creative expression and being able to be who I am and what I want to communicate.”
With Conduit Bodies, Melinda pushed beyond the expectations placed on her by society and embraced a deeper form of expressive mastery.
The performance grew into a crescendo of sound, movement and visual art, culminating in a transformative experience for the audience. Unique, innovative and thought provoking, Conduit Bodies challenged stereotypes and preconceptions about disability. It invited audiences to reconsider the limitations of form and explore a new frontier in live performance. Melinda wrote the show with a clear intention: to dismantle the conventional ideas about disability that she encounters in her daily life.
“I wrote Conduit Bodies to challenge stereotypes and preconceptions of disability,” she says. “Sometimes society is my biggest barrier because people assume that one size fits all.”
Melinda faces this societal misunderstanding often.
“Most people who are not familiar with me wouldn’t think I’m employed and that I pay taxes like everyone else,” she says.
Melinda says she loves life because “I get to choose the way I am,” emphasising the empowerment and freedom she feels in being able to define her own identity, make her own decisions and live authentically on her terms.
This sense of autonomy allows her to embrace life with confidence and joy, knowing she has the agency to shape her path and express herself fully. Reflecting on her positive outlook she says: “I have a fantastic relationship with my cerebral palsy and I like to think that I work with my body’s movement rather than against it.”
This acceptance and collaboration with her body have become central to her creative process.
“These elements have defined my work practice,” Melinda says. “My biggest challenge has been time and communication. I will always need more time, no matter what I do and what I want to say.”
Melinda acknowledges the physical limitations cerebral palsy can impose, but she’s never allowed those constraints to hold her back.
“I’ve never limited myself,” she says. “I’ve achieved more than I ever thought I was capable of. Anything is possible if you put your mind to it.”
In 2019, Melinda was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Deakin University for “her outstanding contribution to the arts and her tireless work in breaking down barriers to inclusion for people with disability in Australia and internationally”.
She is a lecturer at Deakin University in Inclusive Arts and a regular performer and Board Member with the Women’s Circus. But the arts aren’t Melinda’s only passion – she mentors young people with cerebral palsy and complex communication needs, ensuring others have the support they need to thrive.
And then there’s her passion for travel.
“People who know me know how much I have travelled and how much I love it,” she says. “I would love to do some more travel. Places like Vietnam are on my radar.”
Melinda says she loves life because “I get to choose the way I am,” emphasising the empowerment and freedom she feels in being able to define her own identity, make her own decisions and live authentically on her terms.
This sense of autonomy allows her to embrace life with confidence and joy, knowing she has the agency to shape her path and express herself fully. Reflecting on her positive outlook she says: “I have a fantastic relationship with my cerebral palsy and I like to think that I work with my body’s movement rather than against it.”
This acceptance and collaboration with her body have become central to her creative process. “These elements have defined my work practice,” Melinda says.
“My biggest challenge has been time and communication. I will always need more time, no matter what I do and what I want to say.”
Melinda acknowledges the physical limitations cerebral palsy can impose, but she’s never allowed those constraints to hold her back. Melinda’s relationship with Melba began on Halloween Day in 2023 when she moved into an apartment built to specialist disability accommodation (SDA) standards. The transition has been a transformative experience.
“Moving into an SDA apartment and being able to access Melba Support Service has been incredible and a life changing experience,” she says.
“Being able to connect with Melba Support has allowed me to feel safe and secure in my apartment at all times of the day and night.
“Although I am very independent, sometimes I have difficulty completing certain tasks, but Melba has always been there when I needed them. Getting to know all the staff has been a very personal and professional experience.”
With her boundless energy, fierce independence and passion for challenging perceptions, Melinda continues to push the limits of what’s possible, redefining how we understand disability, creativity and the body’s relationship to the world.
