[Callers] hearing impaired

[Jen Morgan]

Hello Bill

This is from a friend who has more experience with this than I

I'll leave this to you to forward to the list.

From: bill fischer via Callers <callers at lists.sharedweight.net>

> does anyone have experience with hearing impaired calling?
>

I've taught English Ceilidh to a deaf group in the UK, and frequently call
in environments with some hearing-impaired dancers.

has anyone used signing for dances?
> or other solutions to make the dance accessible?
>
> Signing helps when you're reasonably close to the dancers, but isn't ideal
in a large room.  For the group, I had a number of hearing folks who spread
themselves through the sets, could sign, and were able to act as
interpreters during the walk-throughs.  However, they were also dancing,
and it's difficult (a) to sign and dance and (b) to look at the person
signing when you're also dancing.  So here are a few tips:

   - Bring bass bins or tip a speaker to point towards the floor if calling
   for a deaf group.  The organiser's suggestion - it gives a beat that can be
   felt - and very effective at keeping time.
   - Beg, borrow, steal, or buy a headset radio mic.  You'll need both
   hands free for my next point; the hearing folks will need you amplified; it
   keeps your face visible for the lip-readers; and you have a reasonable
   chance of getting a feed into the room's T-loop system if there's one
   installed.
   - Use full-body movements to show or mime the moves you want.  I'll hold
   out a crooked right/left arm for turns, hold an arm diagonally up for
   stars, hold arms as if I'm walking in a circle for circles, hold out hands
   to mime a cross-hand swing.  As ever, show these before the move happens,
   just as you'd start to call a move so that the call completes as the move
   starts.
   - If you have one or two hearing-impaired people, try to stay in line of
   sight of them, especially at the start of a move so that they can glance
   away as little as possible from where they are to get the next move.  If
   you have a group, try to stay on the stage so that you're in a known
   position for them.
   - If you have signers, get into a huddle beforehand and agree shorthand
   signs for the different moves.  You tell them what moves you'll be doing
   through the session, they devise the signs and communicate to the group the
   first time the move comes up.
   - Think about your move vocabulary.  It takes longer to teach each new
   move, simply because of the overhead of looking, signing, and associating
   the sign with the move.  Introduce new moves with consideration for the
   learning curve.
   - Remember normal hygiene for dealing with folks who may be partially or
   totally lip-reading: nothing in front of your face (including stand or
   handheld radio mics); face the audience.
   - Try not to mumble; and try not to SHOUT the occAsional SYLlable
   because it plays havoc with compressors in T-loops and hearing aids such
   that your audience may be unable to discern the syllable after the shouted
   one.

Cheers,

- Peter



On 19 June 2018 at 15:13, bill fischer via Callers <
callers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> good day!
>
> thanks for providing this outlet for us!
>
> does anyone have experience with hearing impaired calling?
> has anyone used signing for dances?
> or other solutions to make the dance accessible?
>
> grateful for your thoughts
> billy fischer
> 312 litchfield turnpike
> bethany ct 06524
> 203-393-3464 land
> 203-314-0221 cell/text
> www.billthedancecaller.com
>
>
>
>
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