Tag: deaf

Watch These Dancers Perform Intricate Choreography—Without Hearing the Music

For any dancer, there are some days when staying on the music can feel almost impossible. But the dancers of the China Disabled Peoples’ Performing Arts Troupe are known for performing with exquisite musicality—even though they’re deaf. Founded in 1987, the China Disable Peoples’ Performing Arts Troupe includes both hard-of-hearing dancers and blind musicians. Members […]

Not Your Average Dancer: Meet the Deaf Dancer Defying Stereotypes

Simone Botha Welgemoed is the ultimate dancer: She’s performed with ballet companies, competed in dance competitions, and toured internationally on commercial gigs. She’s currently a member of Bovim Ballet, while also juggling freelance jobs on films in her home of Cape Town, South Africa. But she’s missing something essential to most dancers: her hearing. Welgemoed […]

This Dancer Was Born Deaf and Is Chasing Her Dreams

Talk about inspiring. It seems like kind of a given that if you want to dance to music, you have to be able to hear it. But the human body is amazing, and human willpower even more so. Case in point: Macy Baez, a 15-year-old Australian hip-hop dancer who happens to be deaf. She feels […]

Life Lessons from a Brooklyn Nets Kid

Here’s a Dance Spirit NBA playoffs update: Last night, the Brooklyn Nets lost to the Toronto Raptors in Game 4. Vako (center) and his awesome hair performing with the Brooklyn Nets Kids (photo by Adam Pantozzi/Brooklyn Nets) OK, that felt weird. You’ve probably guessed that we’re not here to talk about basketball. Instead, we’re concerned […]

Dancing through the Silence

Friedrich Nietzsche once said: “And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” Well, what if you couldn’t hear the music? Would you dance anyways? London-based artist and poet Sofia Mattioli asked herself this question one day while riding on a train. She had been […]