I happened to catch Marlee Matlin on “Dancing with the Stars” last night. Uhm, did anyone else see that? Watch her dance? It was amazing. I don’t get it. Really. I don’t get how she even did it, being, as she said, “profoundly deaf.” Someone tell me how she did that, okay? Wow. She was great.
I have not yet seen it…it’s on the Tivo, but my aunt is deaf, and she was a fabulous dancer in her day. She always said she can “feel” the music. I don’t know if this is a vibration of the beat, or what, but I think maybe hearing impaired people don’t get distracted by the melodies and subtleties of the music, and instead can really concentrate on the steps and the rhythm.
Just a theory. Ohhh, I can’t wait to watch her now!
She was amazing – I’m as puzzled as you as to how she did it! (That and I can’t believe she’s had four children … she looks amazing too). 🙂
They played some music for her during rehearsal and she couldn’t hear a thing. I’m not sure she can even feel a beat in the floor. So how do you follow beat when you can’t feel a beat? I don’t know. I’m in awe.
Late post again, I know. I have a cousin who is deaf. She’s able to feel vibrations through the floor or by touching a surface close to the radio (table, door of the car, etc.) When I was young, I’d see my aunt/cousins stomp loudly on the floor from across the room to get her attention if her back was turned. I was never a fan — seemed lazy and disrespectful to me, even as a kid. Sorry for the side info, just confirming for any other future readers that Marlee definitely felt the vibrations through the floor!