Miss-Delectable
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Tonight - Who needs words when talent will do
Italians must be good at learning sign language - with all its hand movements and facial expressions - as displayed by dance director Tanya Surtees while our newspaper's photographer goes snap-happy-crazy to capture it all.
An over-friendly woman, who passed by and stepped into the serene restaurant for coffee, interrupts Surtees mid-conversation to wonder aloud if she's deaf.
"No, I'm not. But I teach deaf children how to dance," Surtees smiles at the tannie.
Curiosity spills over into a whole skit on how the woman-in-transit "reads people". She most likely read that I wanted to get on with my interview and disappeared without giving me a second glance.
Surtees is not only teaching deaf children how to dance, she's also the co-director of a new theatre-dance piece that integrates deaf and hearing dancers.
The piece, Gumbo, is written and produced by the Woodstock-based company that Surtees heads, From The Hip: Khulumakahle. The company aims to ensure deaf people an access point to theatre training.
Surtees says she learnt sign language "first from a book" while completing her dance education and directing degree at Rhodes University. She didn't have a family tragedy involving a deaf brother at all.
"Everybody always asks me why I do this. I should find a proper answer. I like speaking with my hands and also taught dancing at a deaf school in Wynberg," she laughs.
Gumbo is described as "tragicomic". The script was written by Surtees' company.
"Gumbo takes place in a seaside restaurant. It's about an old man and his deaf son. The man is embarrassed by his son and keeps him hidden in the kitchen.
"Then a travelling salesman and his daughter get lost at sea and end up at the restaurant. A gamble ensues as the old man wants to get a wife for his son. A love story develops and the deaf boy learns to stand up for himself," Surtees says.
She adds: "You'll see a great mix of dance styles." Also, the deaf dancers weren't included "simply because they're deaf". They've been undergoing training with the dance company for a while now, says Surtees.
She says her company offers a three-level training course that tackles mime, physical theatre, shadow puppetry and mask work. Students are aged 16-36 and go through a syllabus that the company has devised.
"We also do sign language courses for deaf and hearing people. There are very few courses that teach deaf people sign language," says Surtees, adding that a number of deaf people are severely illiterate.
More importantly, Surtees wants to ensure that deaf students excel as dancers.
"We are trying to train the first wave of deaf theatre professionals. There are none in SA. The concept of being involved in theatre is so obscure they think they can't do it but then they find that they enjoy doing it," says Surtees.
"Everyone has a right to express themselves culturally and deaf people have their own culture. They have the 12th unofficial language in SA."
In rehearsal sessions "it's hands flying furiously" says Surtees. It's a far cry from the silence she witnesses when the students they train are at a regular school. Things get even noisier when the deaf students are inside the theatre.
"Deaf audiences can be really noisy. As a person who can hear, you know when your chair is squeaking. But deaf people don't. So we also educate deaf people about theatre, which is dominated by the hearing," says Surtees.
"It's part of our education as well. It's challenging. Sometimes it's also frustrating because there are theatre terms I don't have the sign for. But we don't get too angry when they do something wrong and they don't get too angry with us."
Dance education at three schools for 100 pupils in Khayelistha, Woodstock and Wynberg has also given Surtees insight into deaf culture.
Surtees informs that all expressions in sign language "mean something". When a deaf person's eyebrows are raised it means that they're asking for a yes or no answer. When their eyebrows are facing downward it means that they're anticipating a more "drawn out answer", says Surtees.
"The deaf find the hearing so boring when they speak. And if you lose eye contact with a deaf person, the conversation is over," she elaborates.
Gumbo is at the Intimate Theatre, Orange St, Gardens from Monday until November 4.
Italians must be good at learning sign language - with all its hand movements and facial expressions - as displayed by dance director Tanya Surtees while our newspaper's photographer goes snap-happy-crazy to capture it all.
An over-friendly woman, who passed by and stepped into the serene restaurant for coffee, interrupts Surtees mid-conversation to wonder aloud if she's deaf.
"No, I'm not. But I teach deaf children how to dance," Surtees smiles at the tannie.
Curiosity spills over into a whole skit on how the woman-in-transit "reads people". She most likely read that I wanted to get on with my interview and disappeared without giving me a second glance.
Surtees is not only teaching deaf children how to dance, she's also the co-director of a new theatre-dance piece that integrates deaf and hearing dancers.
The piece, Gumbo, is written and produced by the Woodstock-based company that Surtees heads, From The Hip: Khulumakahle. The company aims to ensure deaf people an access point to theatre training.
Surtees says she learnt sign language "first from a book" while completing her dance education and directing degree at Rhodes University. She didn't have a family tragedy involving a deaf brother at all.
"Everybody always asks me why I do this. I should find a proper answer. I like speaking with my hands and also taught dancing at a deaf school in Wynberg," she laughs.
Gumbo is described as "tragicomic". The script was written by Surtees' company.
"Gumbo takes place in a seaside restaurant. It's about an old man and his deaf son. The man is embarrassed by his son and keeps him hidden in the kitchen.
"Then a travelling salesman and his daughter get lost at sea and end up at the restaurant. A gamble ensues as the old man wants to get a wife for his son. A love story develops and the deaf boy learns to stand up for himself," Surtees says.
She adds: "You'll see a great mix of dance styles." Also, the deaf dancers weren't included "simply because they're deaf". They've been undergoing training with the dance company for a while now, says Surtees.
She says her company offers a three-level training course that tackles mime, physical theatre, shadow puppetry and mask work. Students are aged 16-36 and go through a syllabus that the company has devised.
"We also do sign language courses for deaf and hearing people. There are very few courses that teach deaf people sign language," says Surtees, adding that a number of deaf people are severely illiterate.
More importantly, Surtees wants to ensure that deaf students excel as dancers.
"We are trying to train the first wave of deaf theatre professionals. There are none in SA. The concept of being involved in theatre is so obscure they think they can't do it but then they find that they enjoy doing it," says Surtees.
"Everyone has a right to express themselves culturally and deaf people have their own culture. They have the 12th unofficial language in SA."
In rehearsal sessions "it's hands flying furiously" says Surtees. It's a far cry from the silence she witnesses when the students they train are at a regular school. Things get even noisier when the deaf students are inside the theatre.
"Deaf audiences can be really noisy. As a person who can hear, you know when your chair is squeaking. But deaf people don't. So we also educate deaf people about theatre, which is dominated by the hearing," says Surtees.
"It's part of our education as well. It's challenging. Sometimes it's also frustrating because there are theatre terms I don't have the sign for. But we don't get too angry when they do something wrong and they don't get too angry with us."
Dance education at three schools for 100 pupils in Khayelistha, Woodstock and Wynberg has also given Surtees insight into deaf culture.
Surtees informs that all expressions in sign language "mean something". When a deaf person's eyebrows are raised it means that they're asking for a yes or no answer. When their eyebrows are facing downward it means that they're anticipating a more "drawn out answer", says Surtees.
"The deaf find the hearing so boring when they speak. And if you lose eye contact with a deaf person, the conversation is over," she elaborates.
Gumbo is at the Intimate Theatre, Orange St, Gardens from Monday until November 4.