Miss-Delectable
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So you think the deaf can't dance? Beat it - Stay In Touch - Entertainment
To elitists, it's just not dancing. To an army of krumping, breaking, freestyle-popping dancers in the deaf community, So You Think You Can Dance Australia is essential viewing.
When the hip-hop star Demi Sorono made it into the top 20 on the TV talent quest, she sent a message by sign language to her deaf sister, Lorraine, who auditioned for the show but did not make it through the heats because the judges thought she would have trouble picking up new choreography.
A former student of the sisters, Ross Onley-Zerkel, said many people - hearing and deaf - were surprised to learn that deaf people could dance.
"Some deaf people were amazed when they saw us perform at a conference dinner because they assumed we would be a professional hearing hip-hop group," Onley-Zerkel said.
With the bass on full-blast, he learnt by feeling the vibrations and memorising steps using beats to match the music.
Onley-Zerkel said most dancers in his class couldn't hear the words of the songs but some had hearing aids to help them hear the music. Next month he plans to run a hip-hop workshop for deaf students in Melbourne with Nikki Ashby, who reached the top 40 of the Network Ten show.
Demi's brother, Carlo, who also reached the top 40, said many dancers in the deaf community had embraced Demi after they saw her use Auslan, or Australian Sign Language, on the show.
"It meant a lot to viewers, even hearing people," he said. "They thought it really came from the heart."
After dancing her way into the top 10 with her partner, Jack Chambers, Demi and the other contestants will swap partners every week for the rest of the competition. Tonight's episode features the first of the top-10 eliminations.
To elitists, it's just not dancing. To an army of krumping, breaking, freestyle-popping dancers in the deaf community, So You Think You Can Dance Australia is essential viewing.
When the hip-hop star Demi Sorono made it into the top 20 on the TV talent quest, she sent a message by sign language to her deaf sister, Lorraine, who auditioned for the show but did not make it through the heats because the judges thought she would have trouble picking up new choreography.
A former student of the sisters, Ross Onley-Zerkel, said many people - hearing and deaf - were surprised to learn that deaf people could dance.
"Some deaf people were amazed when they saw us perform at a conference dinner because they assumed we would be a professional hearing hip-hop group," Onley-Zerkel said.
With the bass on full-blast, he learnt by feeling the vibrations and memorising steps using beats to match the music.
Onley-Zerkel said most dancers in his class couldn't hear the words of the songs but some had hearing aids to help them hear the music. Next month he plans to run a hip-hop workshop for deaf students in Melbourne with Nikki Ashby, who reached the top 40 of the Network Ten show.
Demi's brother, Carlo, who also reached the top 40, said many dancers in the deaf community had embraced Demi after they saw her use Auslan, or Australian Sign Language, on the show.
"It meant a lot to viewers, even hearing people," he said. "They thought it really came from the heart."
After dancing her way into the top 10 with her partner, Jack Chambers, Demi and the other contestants will swap partners every week for the rest of the competition. Tonight's episode features the first of the top-10 eliminations.