Deaf? You CAN dance
Talented troupe put Mirror journalist to the test, but she isn’t Strictly in step…
PERFORMING in front of the dance studio mirror, I try to keep up with everyone’s perfectlytimed pirouettes and jumps.
I’m the only one who can fully hear the music but if there was an audience, they wouldn’t know.
It’s not something many of us have thought about – how it feels to dance without being able to hear.
But thanks to Eastenders star Rose Ayling-ellis, that is changing.
The deaf actress, who uses British Sign Language, is lighting up the dance floor on Strictly Come Dancing. And after a sizzling routine with her pro partner Giovanni Pernice last week, she’s the bookies’ favourite to win.
Rose has said she’s determined “to do the deaf community proud”.
And choreographer Mark Smith and members of his company, Deaf Men Dancing, say she really is.
LANGUAGE
“I am so pleased to see her on Strictly because she will change perceptions of what being deaf or hard of hearing means,” he says, while putting me through my paces.
“It’ll show people that she is the same as other celebrities on the show and the professionals.”
Today I have joined Mark’s dance company. I have some experience, having done dance classes before – but now, I have more to think about than just the steps.
While I can hear the music, I’m using BSL for the first time to sign along to the lyrics as I move.
Having to remember so many things at once means the steps aren’t coming as easily as usual.
But for Mark and those he dances with, this is all par for the course.
“When I set up the company in 2010, I had the idea of using BSL in the choreography because it is part of deaf culture – it’s our language,” says Mark, who has been profoundly deaf since birth.
“I got the dancers together and we tried it out alongside different styles, from jazz to contemporary. It worked really well.”
Mark, 50, was inspired to set up his London group after he saw a gap in the market for hard of hearing and deaf performers to show what they can do on stage.
“When I was a professional dancer, I had a lot of people asking I was the only deaf dancer in the UK,” he says. “It gave me the idea of having a group of deaf and hard of hearing dancers rehearsing and performing together in one room.
“Because of doing dance and theatre, we’ve all learned to fit in and never really talked much about our deafness.
“In our industry, being deaf was seen as a taboo – many of us have been told to leave it off our CVS as it may stop us being hired.”
But things are changing. Rose
becoming the first deaf contestant in Strictly’s 17-year history is a leap forward. She follows in the footsteps of American star Nyle Dimarco, who won US show Dancing with the Stars with Peta Murgatroyd in 2018. Tonight,
Rose will perform to Alicia Keys’ song Fallin’. And her and Giovanni’s recent Titanic-themed Foxtrot moved the judges to tears.
It’s safe to say, her skills are a little more advanced than mine.
Today, I am learning a routine to the song I Got A Feeling by deaf musician Deafboyone.
The company have previously performed it in a show called Hear! Hear!
Mark is joined by Londoners Joseph Fletcher, 33, and Aaron Rahn, 26, who perform in West End musicals. We start off with Mark teaching me the sign language for the first two verses and chorus.
And, once I’ve mastered that, it’s time for the tricky part – learning the steps for my legs while I sweep my arms around to sign.
Giovanni initially said Rose learned to dance via “muscle memory” and his body language. But more recently, Rose said: “It is a common misconception that deaf people can’t enjoy music.
“I have a hearing aid, so I can hear the beat. I can hear singing, but I can’t identify exact words. I also feel the vibrations and count in my head to help with timing.”
But not all deaf dancers rely on the same cues. Mark, who wears hearing aids in both ears, cannot hear high-pitched sounds but like Rose, feels those vibrations and counts.
Joseph, who has severe hearing loss in his left ear and profound loss in his right, uses his heartbeat and a bassline to find rhythm.
He said: “I can’t necessarily hear what the song is about, lyric-wise, so I tap into what the orchestration is telling me, whether it’s happy or sad.” Of the three, Aaron hears the most – 40% of sounds in his right ear, 80% in his left.
“High stuff varies,” he says. “I often have music on very loud and use the bass and metronome of the track to help me stay in time. For me, the voice is the overpowering thing I will hear, which is what I’ll follow.”
Mark has an idea – getting me to try tuning out the words and feel the bass, with mixed results.
“You were a lot better before,” he laughs after I spend the next two minutes stumbling over my feet.
Joseph admits the largely hearing audiences they get at shows often have a “low expectation”, but “come away thinking, ‘Wow, they can really dance in time’.” Mark hopes Rose makes viewers feel the same.
“Perceptions are the biggest obstacle to deaf dancers,” he says.
“They are no different – they just do things in a different way.”
■ For more, see deafmendancing.com. The class was at Pineapple Dance Studios – pineapple.uk.com