Deaf children celebrate the power of dance and sign language, thanks to Plymouth group
Local group Plymouth Dance held an exciting dance showcase for local deaf children and their families at Eggbuckland Vale Primary School on Thursday 26 March.
The children, aged 6-11, of the Deaf Education Centre who attend Plymouth Dance’s Club at the school got together to showcase their signing and dancing skills to their families and friends. One of their dances featured animals, while another was themed around the classical elements of earth, wind, fire and water.
Their families also had the opportunity to meet and make friends with other families in similar situations – and even got up at the end for a group dance of the Macarena!
The session was designed to introduce the children and their families to the power of British Sign Language (BSL) through the inclusive medium of dance. The BSL element was included in response to demand from the families of deaf children from across the region.
The session was made possible by a Community Grant from the National Deaf Children’s Society, which supports the UK’s 50,000 deaf children. Plymouth Dance is one of over 50 organisations supporting deaf children throughout the UK to have successfully applied for a Community Grant from the National Deaf Children’s Society.
The charity’s Community Grants Programme aims to support local groups across the UK to make positive and lasting changes for deaf children and their families throughout their communities and regions.
This session was part of a busy year of activity for Plymouth Dance, funded by the charity, in which they’ve been reaching out to the deaf children and their families in the region with dozens of afterschool dance sessions.
On 8 June they will help Plymouth Sound National Marine Park celebrate Deaf Marine Day with a special dance performance, aimed at making marine science more accessible to deaf communities, and featuring some brand new BSL signs for marine animals.
Beth Tiner of Plymouth Dance commented: “What a lovely showcase we had! The children really enjoyed dancing and signing, and being able to share it with their families. The event gave them the chance to come together and integrate BSL into their dance moves. It was so great to see the parents supporting and joining in with the performance!
“Thanks to the Community Grant from the National Deaf Children’s Society, we’ve been able to lay on these sessions. They’ve proved a fantastic way of accessing and understanding British Sign Language as a means of communication and self-expression. I think it’s great that the charity is helping us find really innovative local solutions for local people.”
Angela Calder, of the Community Grants team at the National Deaf Children’s Society, added: “We’ve been bowled over by the incredible response to our Community Grants Programme. We launched it because we know very well that community-based organisations - just like Plymouth Dance - are ideally placed to come up with some really imaginative ways of reaching out and supporting the deaf children within their own communities.
“With our financial support, coupled with our knowledge and know-how, we’re confident that we can empower local groups to make lasting improvements to the lives of the deaf children and their families in communities up and down the UK.”
