Redeafination

Redeaf Class in Progress - Photo Courtesy of Daniel Chong

Nestled in the heart of Orchard Road, a group of funky dance enthusiasts gather every Saturday at a dance studio to groove to the
latest hip hop beats. At first glance, this looks like any regular commercial dance class but upon closer inspection, you will notice that besides communicating through the language of dance, these dancers communicate with one another using sign language as well. This is Redeafination – the premier dance club for the Deaf.

The club’s humble roots can be traced back to 2007 when a series of short hip hop dance workshops for the Deaf were conducted at the old MVS Hall with a portable CD player. Despite the lack of proper dance facilities, the workshops generated much interest. Encouraged by this, and with the support of the Association, the group has since evolved into an official dance club, conducting its training at a fully equipped external dance studio.

Having officially started operations in July 2008, Redeafination has already performed in 2 stage productions – “NUS Arts Festival 2008 – Welcome to My World” concert organised by Very Special Arts (VSA) and more recently at the “A Nation in Concert 2008″ musical. Both performances have garnered rave reviews from audiences, friends and family alike.

Redeaf @ NUS Arts Festival 2008

Redeaf @ ANIC 2008

Angeline Chen, a pioneer Redeafination member, started dancing at the age of 5 but stopped shortly after. When asked why she decided to join Redeafination, Angeline has this to share:

Angeline in Action!

My desire to dance was rekindled when I watched a very cool hip hop dance choreographed by Jason and Nix (Redeafination instructors) at IDD 2007. Having danced for a few Xtomic performances a few years ago, it made me realise how much I missed dancing and would like to learn more. So joining Redeafination helped to quench my thirst for dance. It was through Redeafination that I got a chance to perform again – and It was definitely a good experience and a sweet relief to the extent of wishing that the performances’ duration could have been longer.

Being a hearing-impaired dancer, I do not consider my condition a hinderance but rather a challenge to be overcome with passion, curiousity and proper training. During Redeafination classes, I try to follow the instructors by observing and remembering the movements, followed by counting and feeling the tempo of the dance with the music playing along in my head. I personally feel that we don’t really have to hear the music so well in order to dance well although some people would say this is fundamental to dance.

To the other hearing-impaired who are considering joining Redeafination, I would tell them ‘You can if you think you can. Let’s dance!’

Angeline @ ANIC 2008 - Photo Courtesy of Lawrence Ang

Redeafination is a new hip hop dance club under SADeaf. We are open to all members and friends of the Deaf community.
To find out more, please visit our blog at http//:redeafination.wordpress.com
or email us at redeafination@gmail.com for enquiries.