Chapter 64.
At my daughter’s wedding, I saw my nephew dance for the
first time, and I was surprised to see him dancing so beautifully. How could he do that if he’s deaf? My sister tried to explain how that could
work. I still don’t understand. Can all deaf people dance like him?
We personally enjoy seeing people doing what others imagine
unthinkable – wrecking stereotypical notions of what’s normal “handicapped”
behavior. But the fact is that deaf
people are very much individuals, and exactly like hearing people in that
respect. And while some hearing people
are terrific dancers and some are incredible klutzes, the same applies to deaf
people. Some are just so beautifully
coordinated, so creative with movement, so physically free, they’ve made
professional or quasi-professional careers out of dance, while others equally
deaf are stiff and awkward – hippopotami on skateboards. Since deafness can affect the sense of
balance whose center is in the inner ear, many deaf people must struggle especially
hard to achieve coordination and grace – and sometimes this makes them better,
more motivated dancers!
We can learn to dance very well without being able to hear
the music. What’s required is a sharp
eye, alertness, sensitivity to rhythm, and coordination – the same skills any
good dancer develops. Dance classes set
up for deaf students use visual cues, amplified music (with a vigorous bass
section), and a lot of percussion – like tambour drums – that sends strong
vibrations through the air and can be felt in one’s bones (particularly the
breastbone). On stage, without the help
of the drum, they can keep mental count.
That deaf dancers “feel the vibrations through the floor” is
something of a misconception. Since
their feet are not in contact with the floor at all times, it’s more accurate to
say deaf dancers feel vibrations of the music through their bodies. They learn to keep a sharp eye-corner on what’s
happening, as well as developing and refining their intuitive, “internalized”
sense of rhythm. Your nephew was keenly
alert to what was going on and used his own everyday skills to keep perfect
pace with the others.
He has some distinguished company. As an example of what a deaf dancer can
achieve, consider the remarkable career of Frances Woods (real name: Esther Thomas). She was born totally deaf in 1907, yet became
a professional dancer in 1926. She and
her hearing husband, Billy Bray (real name Anthony Caliguire), formed a team,
dancing in hotels and taverns during the Depression, then in vaudeville (live
routines) at the R.K. O. chain of theaters.
Their routines included acrobatics, mime, and a variety of elements from
popular dances of the day (such as the “Apache”). Both of them developed tremendous strength and
endurance. One of Woods’ celebrated
routines concluded with her pretending to shoot Bray with a tiny pistol, then
lifting him off the floor and carrying him offstage, slung over her
shoulder. Woods designed and made all
her own costumes. Robert L. Ripley (of “Believe
It Or Not!” fame) called them the Wonder Dancers. Woods and Bray performed throughout the 1930’s,
1940’s, and 1950’s, in many famous nightclubs and hotels, accompanied by some
of the great bands, in the States and Europe.
They even performed in London’s famed Palladium. Long after retirement, they were still
dancing together.
What about dance troupes?
Gallaudet University has the well-know Gallaudet Dancers, who have
performed publicly on and off campus. Yacov
Sharir (hearing) founded the American Deaf Dance company in 1976. Featuring a “mixed troupe” of deaf and
hearing dancers, the ADDC enjoyed a promising but brief career. Musign, a Deaf comedy-dance-sign-music
troupe, began touring in 1982. The
American Dance Theatre of the Deaf was founded in 1982. The American Dance Theatre of the Deaf was
founded in 1986 by Adrienne Ehrlich (also hearing). Unlike the ADDC, this was an all-deaf
troupe. ADTD’s choreographer, Michael
Thomas, was a progressively-defeaned professional dancer who had once been the
premier danseur (leading male dancer) of the San Francisco Ballet Company and
suffered from attacks of vertigo and a progressive loss of balance. Thomas taught dance to deaf and hearing
students and directed the RIT Dance Company from 1988 until his untimely death
from AIDS in 1997. All of these
Deaf-dance companies have disbanded, but the Gallaudet Dancers are still going
strong, and dance continues at NTID/RIT.
Elsewhere, opportunities for deaf students are limited. The Joffrey Ballet once offered a class for
Deaf students (in Manhattan, naturally).
This was immortalized in Silent Dancer (1981), written by Bruce Hilbok
and photographed by Liz Glasgow. The
dancer was Bruce’s sister Nancy.
A good number of deaf people love going to bars with
well-amplifies disco music. They love to
dance to the loud, very loud bass section and the booming percussion. Many Deaf festivals and gatherings feature a
disco-dance party, and these are typically well-attended. Even those who can’t dance well have a great
time.
Anyone who says that deaf people can’t dance is a dolt. And anyone who says that all deaf people are
good dancers is a bigger dolt.
Chapter 66.
Do signsongs make sense?
1.
It seems
that many hearing children (and adults) are learning signs from their (hearing)
teachers in order to sign and sing sons for (hearing) audiences. I am bothered by this. Do Deaf children and Deaf adults enjoy seeing
hearing (people) sign and singing songs?
2.
If Deaf Children learn to voice songs for Deaf
audiences, would this make sense?
3.
Anyway, signing songs word-for-word is just a
string of vocabulary words, not a translation.
Where’s the meaning?
Signsongs are an artistic hybrid, borrowing the concept of
choral signing from Hearing culture and the signs (more or less) from Deaf
culture. The idea is to present a visual
harmony and counterpoint that complements the purely auditory dimension of a
voice choir. It’s a new twist on a
traditional musical genre. Signsongs can
also be performed by trios, duets, or soloists.
We’re not sure who developed signsong, or when, but it has
become a staple of Deaf-culture festivals.
It plays a part in church services (signed hymns and psalms), public
gathering and concerts.
Deaf/hard-of-hearing sign choirs that perform publicly come and go. There’s an annual Sign Choir Festival in
Texas (sponsored by the Sign Music Foundation based in Denton) that emphasizes imaginative
approaches. Deaf artists participate,
and not just those who perform signsongs either. It’s a popular event.
So … are signsongs okay?
Those who perform and enjoy watching them don’t see any problem.
So why do some Deaf people have negative feelings about
signsong? Several reasons. They’re not a traditional pare of ASL
culture, not the way ASL sign-mime performances are. Sign mime, albeit a relatively new genre,
utilizes elements of mime, borrowed from the Hearing tradition. In the hands of a skilled performer,
sign-mime can be a tremendously exciting experience. The audience is invited to participate in the
performance, using their eyes, emotions, and imaginations. It is very hard to draw lines of demarcation
between sign-mime, ASL poetry, storytelling, and drama, because each may
contain elements of the other genres.
ASL is a powerful artistic medium – even for audiences who may not
understand ASL. Such forms of
performance art are seen as organic outgrowths of ASL.
Signsongs, then, are more of a hearing form of expression
than a Deaf one. So is it okay for
hearing choirs to perform signsongs to hearing audiences? As Ms. Roth’s questions suggest, some Deaf
people (by no means extremists or linguistic fanatics) are bothered by
this. Because signed songs utilize
elements of sign language transposed to a musical genre, there’s a political dimension. Deaf people who dislike the idea of signing
songs simply avoid attending such events.
Some have gone further. In the
late 70s, Audree Norton, Gregg Brooks, and Julianna Fjeld publicly protested
the use of a group of hearing students signing a song at an Academy Awards event.
For one thing, they felt that it would have been more appropriate to let Deaf
students sign the song. Give them the
opportunity to show the beauty of sign language – their language. For another, they were concerned about the authenticity,
distortion, and misrepresentation involved.
But … are signsongs really sign language? “Where’s the meaning?” asks Ms. Roth. Meaning isn’t the most important consideration
here. Signsongs look pretty, which is,
we suppose, why uninformed hearing audiences like them and why they have
endured. Certainly, it can look nice if
it’s done well. But is it a legitimate
means of artistic expression? Is there a
taint of cultural piracy about it?
Most signsongs are performed in straight signed English –
sung lyrics with signs pasted onto them, word for word. It’s a dry approach, and tends to leave Deaf
audiences bewildered. They don’t
understand this approach at all. Hearing
audiences (especially those unfamiliar with real ASL) applaud, cheer, and think
it’s absolutely beautiful.
We suspect that some hearing teachers have their hearing
students rehearse and perform signsongs to give them something to do with their
hands while they’re singing … i.e., to prevent fidgeting. Instead of having the choir stand immobile
with only their mouths moving, they sign in synchrony with what they’re
singing.
Lest you think that we’re “against” blending signs and song
as a matter of principle, we hasten to add that we’re not. There is a well-known signsinger named Sherry
Hicks who performs ASL songs beautifully.
She’s a hearing woman – a CODA.
And she performs for Deaf audiences, who are delighted, even enraptured,
by the beauty of her songs. Since she
has a strong native-ASL background, she understands what she’s doing, and what
Deaf people want. Her songs aren’t
cross-cultural pastiches; they bear the stamp of her artistry. That’s an example we wish could be more widely
emulated.
