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?"

        I feel like this is a very legitimate question because when we think of dancing, most of us (including myself) associate it with music, which deaf people can obviously not here.  It was interesting to learn that "while some hearing people are terrific dancers and some are incredible klutzes, the same applies to deaf people" (pg 377).  Music does not determine whether a deaf person can dance or not and instead, a sharp eye, alertness, rhythm, and coordination are the key components.  I loved learning that "dance classes set up for deaf students use visual cues, amplified music, and a lot of percussion" (pg 378).  In addition, my previous belief that deaf people feel vibrations through the floor was proven wrong in this chapter.  Instead, deaf people tend to feel vibrations of music through their bodies, specifically the breastbone.
        Also, I was glad that this chapter talked more about the how involved deaf people are in dance and dance companies.  I previously did not realize there involvement, and it was cool to see how Deaf students are offered these opportunities.  I learned that there are dance troupes at Gallaudet University, known as the Gallaudet Dancers.  In addition, there was the American Deaf Dance Company which was considered a "mixed troupe", including both hearing and deaf dancers.  I think it is disappointing that presently, the Gallaudet Dancers are the only group that has not been disbanded.
        I have always been told that 'Deaf people are loud' and this information about dancing and music definitely helped me to understand that statement.  Deaf people need to feel the vibrations of the music in order to enjoy it and dance to it and as a result, loud music with an extremely loud bass section with percussion is what is used.