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Dancing with the deaf will help others hear: Times Argus Online
The deaf can dance, exclaimed Diane Hottendorf, who has been teaching them to do so for the last three decades.
The Barre Lions Club has invited the internationally acclaimed Gallaudet Dance Company to the Barre Opera House on May 9 for two performances. A matinee is scheduled for 2:30 p.m., at which children younger than 15 are admitted free and adults pay $15. An evening show is scheduled for 7 p.m., at which children up to 15 years pay $10 and adult admission is $24.
"It's our first trip to Vermont, so we're really excited," said Hottendorf from Gallaudet University, the world's only accredited liberal arts university for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. "We always hope the community works well to get a large audience for us. They're not professional dancers, but they're very good."
Proceeds from the performance go to the Barre Lions Club to provide the visually and hearing-impaired with needed equipment and devices to assist them. Over the last five years, the club has spent over $35,000 providing eyeglasses and hearing aids to people unable to afford them.
More than 50 years ago a professor at Gallaudet University saw a student signing the Lord's Prayer and noticed the beauty of the movement. It is what Hottendorf, who has been the director of the dance company for the last 28 years, still highlights as part of her teaching.
"I just love the language because I love movement," she said. "I would see the signing and it was like seeing another dance form."
Sue Gill-Doleac is the assistant director of the dance company and is hearing-impaired. Her parents got Gill-Doleac into dance classes as a child to help her combat shyness. Now she shares that gift.
Members of the troupe perform a variety of dance forms, including modern dance, hip-hop, tap and jazz — incorporating American Sign Language. Not being able to hear the music is not important to the performance.
"We go by count, just like a drummer or musician who goes by inner rhythm," said Hottendorf, who teaches audiences signing while dancers change costume between songs. "They are a visual community and they like to move."
One of the greatest challenges for the dance instructor is working with students who have no formal dance training when they arrive at the college. In a DVD released by the Lions Club, one dancer said she has learned a lot about how to express herself and emotions by being involved in the dance company.
"They're all working really hard, doing a lot of stuff," said Hottendorf, who was not expecting to become a professor and longtime member of the deaf and hearing-impaired community when she began nearly three decades ago. "This is where my paints are. You build and keep building. … You have a sense of family and small town. … It is such a rich culture in so many ways."
When asked how the company chooses where to perform, Hottendorf said, there are many requests that take them to places around the world.
"The hardest part of my job is saying no," she added, explaining that all of their expenses are paid by the Barre Lions Club for the weekend performances. "Hopefully they'll make enough money to help. … We're sort of their gift to the community."
The deaf can dance, exclaimed Diane Hottendorf, who has been teaching them to do so for the last three decades.
The Barre Lions Club has invited the internationally acclaimed Gallaudet Dance Company to the Barre Opera House on May 9 for two performances. A matinee is scheduled for 2:30 p.m., at which children younger than 15 are admitted free and adults pay $15. An evening show is scheduled for 7 p.m., at which children up to 15 years pay $10 and adult admission is $24.
"It's our first trip to Vermont, so we're really excited," said Hottendorf from Gallaudet University, the world's only accredited liberal arts university for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. "We always hope the community works well to get a large audience for us. They're not professional dancers, but they're very good."
Proceeds from the performance go to the Barre Lions Club to provide the visually and hearing-impaired with needed equipment and devices to assist them. Over the last five years, the club has spent over $35,000 providing eyeglasses and hearing aids to people unable to afford them.
More than 50 years ago a professor at Gallaudet University saw a student signing the Lord's Prayer and noticed the beauty of the movement. It is what Hottendorf, who has been the director of the dance company for the last 28 years, still highlights as part of her teaching.
"I just love the language because I love movement," she said. "I would see the signing and it was like seeing another dance form."
Sue Gill-Doleac is the assistant director of the dance company and is hearing-impaired. Her parents got Gill-Doleac into dance classes as a child to help her combat shyness. Now she shares that gift.
Members of the troupe perform a variety of dance forms, including modern dance, hip-hop, tap and jazz — incorporating American Sign Language. Not being able to hear the music is not important to the performance.
"We go by count, just like a drummer or musician who goes by inner rhythm," said Hottendorf, who teaches audiences signing while dancers change costume between songs. "They are a visual community and they like to move."
One of the greatest challenges for the dance instructor is working with students who have no formal dance training when they arrive at the college. In a DVD released by the Lions Club, one dancer said she has learned a lot about how to express herself and emotions by being involved in the dance company.
"They're all working really hard, doing a lot of stuff," said Hottendorf, who was not expecting to become a professor and longtime member of the deaf and hearing-impaired community when she began nearly three decades ago. "This is where my paints are. You build and keep building. … You have a sense of family and small town. … It is such a rich culture in so many ways."
When asked how the company chooses where to perform, Hottendorf said, there are many requests that take them to places around the world.
"The hardest part of my job is saying no," she added, explaining that all of their expenses are paid by the Barre Lions Club for the weekend performances. "Hopefully they'll make enough money to help. … We're sort of their gift to the community."