Victoria Government
Deaf Can Dance recently had a practice for their new show. They danced to music and a moving line of light on the back of the stage. So people understand what it is like to be deaf, they used confusing sign language. Dancing trainer Jo Dunbar says the new show is about how people talk to each other when they first meet. Jo says that people with disabilities should try to do whatever they want to do.
Posted by: Davidh Digman, on 01/12/09
A cacophony of light and sound
As guests arrived at the Gasworks Theatre in Albert Park there was a buzz of anticipation. Then the lights dimmed and a chorus of didgeridoo music filled the empty stage. A colourful squiggle of light projected onto the back wall danced to the music and four dancers glided onto the stage. Rising in noise, the music became discordant. The dancers joined the noise with their own silent refrain.
In Australian Sign Language (Auslan), these incredibly talented artists sang a cacophony of sign that matched the cacophony of light and sound. Suddenly, to those not hearing impaired, some of the mystery of deafness started to disappear. And it was only a rehearsal.
Deaf Can Dance is just what it seems: a troupe of dancers who are all deaf. Conceived in 2007 by Medina Sumovic and Anna Seymour, Deaf Can Dance has been slipping and sliding together since early 2008.
Anna Seymour says that the inspiration for Deaf Can Dance came from a Dreaming Festival held a few years ago where she saw an indigenous hip hop group. She then had a vision. A deaf hip hop group,
enthused Anna. Wouldn’t that be great?
When they later met, Anna and Medina learned they had similar visions. Shortly after, Deaf Can Dance was created.
The group choreograph their dance routines by feeling the vibration of the music through their bodies. They also use an electronic wavy line projected onto the back of the stage.
Deaf Can Dance is part of the Deaf Arts Network. The network is a not-for-profit organisation working to promote the interests of deaf artists.
The group had a sell-out performance of The Sound of Silence at the 2008 Melbourne Fringe Festival. Deaf Can Dance was then invited to perform at the fourth World Congress on Mental Health and Deafness held in Brisbane in October.
Deaf Can Dance choreographer, Jo Dunbar, says the show is about communication and about the frustration that a deaf person can feel when misunderstood. She hopes the show reflects what it is like to meet somebody for the first time.
Deaf Can Dance is a troupe of dancers who have not allowed disability to stop them doing something that they are passionate about. It is obvious that dance makes these artists come alive.
Ms Dunbar says that someone once suggested she take dance classes. Are you kidding me?
was her response. I can’t hear!
Yet she went to dance classes, loved them and has never regretted it since. If I hadn’t gone for that dance class, I would have not experienced what it gives me. It gives me a great sense of self.
So,
says Ms Dunbar with a knowing smile, to those people who believe that they can’t do something, then they should just do it. There will always be a way you can do it.
The artists of Deaf Can Dance prove that disabilities are more in our way if we let them. That we can get many obstacles out of our way if only we dare to dance around them…
They prove that, really, the deaf can dance.
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