When they perform, they bop to the beat, creating a unique rhythm and rhyme like any other professional artists — except for the fact they can’t hear or see.
The artists form a group called the Chinese Disabled People Art Troupe, which will perform at the River Rock Theatre Saturday.
The troupe, made up of 21 deaf dancers and 10 instrument players with vision challenges, will give performances in dance, music, and sign language poems.
“All the performers are professional artists. We hope our performance will let the audience get to know the beauty of this special art,” said Jing Wang, the troupe’s vice leader.
One of their representative performances is called Thousand-hand Bodhisattva, in which 21 deaf dancers move like one.
The performers jive with the rhythm and work in unison, which is remarkable, considering some have never heard music in their life due to congenital disabilities.
“During practice, the dancers use drumming and the vibration of the floor to feel the tempo, then remember it in their hearts,” said Qi Wang, the spokesperson of the troupe, who lost part of her vision when she was born and started learning Erhu — a Chinese traditional instrument — at age six.
“When they are on the stage, the performers recall the tempo in their mind and get hints on important time nodes by looking at an instructor off the stage out of the corner of their eyes,” she said.
Qi Wang said they also have dances by artists with vision loss in which performers find their position on the stage using a very thin string that connects them to each other.
Qi Wang and nine other artists with vision challenges will play music and sing; Wang will also take the role as a host.
“When we play in a group, since we can’t see a command, we really have to feel each other and practice really hard to form a tacit understanding,” said Yu Yu, another instrument player.
“We hope to show that people with disabilities can still create so much beauty and shine on the stage,” said Jing Wang
“Whether you have a disability or not, you shouldn’t give up the hope and courage to create a beautiful life.”
