Fame or Famine

Ms. Rita, a Deaf Dance Student

by Gray on May 1st, 2008

For the past month I’ve been working as a ballroom dance instructor for the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Madison, WI. One of the pleasures of working there was the opportunity to work with Ms. Rita for a couple of hours while she was in town visiting. Here is her account of the experience:

Marlee Matlin is gone from Dancing with the Stars, but that didn’t stop me from signing up for a ballroom dance lesson with Gray during a recent trip to Madison, WI. Before we started, we talked about my particular needs, since there are a variety of different kinds of accommodations for people who are deaf. We also talked about what we’d seen on Dancing with the Stars, like how Marlee faced the band so that she could see when the music started.

One thing that impressed me was Ms. Rita’s gung-ho attitude. She never had any hesitation in trying to tackle the dances or dance steps. It is surprising how many people without the disadvantage of not being able to hear the music will feel that they can’t possibly move. Ms. Rita would hear me say “Ok, we’re going to try a slightly more complicated move in the tango now…” and she would just nod and say “Ok, let’s do it!”

Gray adjusted the bass and positioned us under the speakers so that I could feel (and hear with assistive technology) the latin beat for our tangos and rhumbas. As a lip-reader, I like to think that I’m a good follower on the dance floor because I’m attuned to the slight adjustments in my partner’s facial expressions and body language as he moves me from the closed position into the open promenade. Still, I’d be so happy if we could just dance without worrying too much about adhering to the beat, but this is the hearing world so the beat is terribly important. Gray found ways to signal the rhythm by counting out loud or tapping me on the back. I’d catch sight of us in the studio’s floor-to-ceiling mirrors. Gray definitely knows how to make me look good. I felt like a princess when he twirled me.

See me blush! It’s not that I made her look like a princess, it’s that she has the regal beauty of a queen (ok, I think we’re done with the mutual admiration society now). One of the benefits of the assistive technology came when some of the other dance instructors needed to change the music for their own students. By simply moving Ms. Rita further away from the bass speaker, the differing beat was nullified and we were able to dance to the beat I tapped into her back with my right hand as we danced and moved.

The judges and the general public called Marlee an inspiration, and I’m not going to deny that she surely inspires deaf kids to follow their dreams of becoming actresses and dancers, but the truth is that deaf people already know how to dance. Hearing people need their music but deaf people rock on even without it.

In the two hours we spent we learned moves in foxtrot, tango, rumba, cha cha, swing, and the waltz. By the end her legs were tired, but her smile never wavered. I’m very grateful for the experience of teaching her, and she’d be welcome on any dance floor of mine any time.

Here’s Marlee Matlin’s samba with Fabian Sanchez on Dancing with the Stars

Share This

Related Stories

• POPPA MIA: Abba, Dancing Queen, and the Self-Respecting Male
• The Three Rules of Middle Eastern Dance
• “And this woman really knows how to die…”
• Meet the 10 New Crews of America’s Best Dance Crew
• Proud Theatre of Madison presents: PLUGGED IN!

POSTED IN: Dance, Dancing with the Stars, Interviews, Life in the Performing Arts