[Blindtlk] Can a person's movement be affected by blindness?

Sat Sep 18 12:46:43 UTC 2010

Hi Jim,

I know many musicians both sighted and blind. I have a really good friend
who is a musical theater performer and has done a lot of off Broadway
musicals. She was born with tumor in her brain but miraculously and despite
what doctors told her parents, that she would never be able to see, walk,
talk, etc. She dances, sings, and is now married and 5 months pregnant. She
has never allowed anything to stop her. Her movement is affected due to the
tumor. She walks with a limp, and her arms are a bit stiffer than normal.
She has had a lot of physical therapy to loosen her muscles. But, despite it
all she knows who she is and she loves doing what she does. It seems like
you are pretty solid as well. You really enjoy performing and seem to be
really good at it. That is the most important thing-ENJOYING it. Here is a
bit of advice because I too, was a performer in musical theater. I took
several acting classes to learn how to "act". I would recommend that while
on stage, you "feel the music". Feel the rhythm, the beat, and allow the
music to "move" you. You will become one with the music and then you will be
performing better than ever. Good luck! "Break a Leg" as they say and most
importantly have fun. Smile!!!

Mari Hunziker

On Fri, Sep 17, 2010 at 12:13 PM, Jim <jp100 at earthlink.net> wrote:

> Hello everyone,
>
>
>
> I know this topic might have been briefly brought up by me in the Blindtalk
> (August 2008 forum).  I've asked questions of a similar nature, but I think
> this goes a bit deeper.  If we've talked about this before, please forgive
> me.  I hope this will spark some good discussion.  I also hope to hear from
> folks with all degrees of blindness, especially from those who have been
> totally blind for a long time, or since birth.  This issue is beginning to
> affect me enough to want to try doing something about it.  Perhaps as a
> precursor, go through the archives and look at a question I sent back in
> August of 2008 dealing with extra hands on for the congenitally blind.
>  This
> goes one or two steps beyond my initial questions.
>
>
>
> As many of you know, I've been blind since birth.  I think I was raised
> pretty normally.  From what I was told, it had been recommended to my mom
> that as a baby that I go see a kids' physical therapist to help get me to
> move a bit more and a bit more freely.  More than anything, she helped
> solidify the whole "up/down and left/right" concepts, among other things.
> That was fine, and I was up and about as any other kid was.  The whole
> blindism thing was also nipped in the bud at a very young age as well.  In
> fact, it might have been nipped too well, because to this day, even when
> I'm
> totally relaxed, I am generally one who sits quite still.  I can still
> remember my family telling me to sit or stand still when we'd be at other
> people's homes, stores, or other places where I was in public.  I wasn't
> the
> type to really get in trouble for running around places and causing
> mischief
> in that way.  While I played outside in my home area, I don't ever really
> remember getting into trouble by just going off and exploring and
> terrorizing other areas the way little kids I know would have done.  I was
> pretty peaceful and content.  My thing was always trying to look good and
> fit in with the regular crowd.
>
>
>
> I never really thought about any of that kind of thing until recently.  I
> find myself on stage more and more, performing and playing music either by
> myself or with two other friends.  I've begun hearing advice such as, "You
> need to look like you're enjoying what you're doing.", or "I wonder how we
> can get you to be more animated and move a little bit so that you're not
> stoic."  One newspaper article recently described me as being "statuesque."
> In fact, I might post that small blurb, because it is suggesting that the
> reason for my way of being deals with blindness.
>
>
>
> "Also, they brought along a friend, Jim Portillo, that played an intriguing
> electric bass ukulele with strings made of polyurethane, which gave it a
> resonance like rubber, very rich sound for such a small instrument.
>  Besides
> perfect licks, he had a great classic, statue-like stance of a bluegrass
> bassist, never wavering, and then later, it was revealed he was blind and
> had only been playing a few weeks."
>
>
>
>
>
> I once took a class on stage craft, and one of the things folks liked about
> my image the most was my smile.  I am told that a lot lately.use the smile.
> I do, but once I'm on stage, I get so focused on what I'm doing that I end
> up forgetting or simply not doing these things that really are attractive
> to
> a visual audience.  How do blind people get more into the visual aspects of
> things?  Of course I'm enjoying what I'm doing.  There's no greater love
> for
> me than to play music with my two best friends.
>
>
>
> So, here are some questions now that you know my background.  Is a person's
> natural movement or lack thereof affected by blindness in any way?  How do
> totally blind people learn about movement, expression, etc without looking
> forced or mechanical?  I have given up trying to dance because as a kid, I
> was always told, "Oh, you look like a little robot, pretty mechanical."
>  How
> does one differentiate between what may look like a blindism from natural
> and free-flowing movement?  If my friend tells me to feel free to swing and
> sway as I play, how do I do it without looking like a Ray Charles or Stevie
> Wonder?  Are these valid concerns or things that can or should possibly be
> overcome to some degree, and if so, how?  Maybe I'm either too
> self-conscious or perhaps I'm not totally aware of what some of these "free
> forms of movement and expressions" are?  I don't know.  I'm inclined to
> believe that sighted people learn by watching and imitation.  In my case,
> unless someone literally shows me what to do and puts my body through the
> motions, my interpretations may be different from what they're asking me to
> do.  And, I'm to the point now in what I do where I don't wish to look
> foolish or stand out in the wrong way.
>
>
>
> The good thing about all of this is that I have a whole lot of other things
> going for me.  I do well behind a microphone in that I'm a good MC and
> public speaker.  I'm a good promoter and can get my message across to
> folks.
> And, when I'm on stage, I deliver a good sounding performance.
>
> My friends have been great ones and very honest with me about things.  I
> now
> know that I probably stand out a bit more by not doing anything or moving.
> Interesting, huh?  Now, if I begin working on this, I also want to look
> natural and not fake.  I don't want to look like I've memorized a formula
> for movement, especially to various songs.  It's Folk music, right?
>
>
>
> I look forward to a good discussion that will hopefully challenge me to go
> further and see what happens.
>
>
>
> Jim
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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