[nabs-l] Can a person's movement be affected by blindness?

Fri Sep 17 18:43:17 UTC 2010

Very interesting topic.  I am also a musician.  Dancing is very hard
to me because although I can see a little bit, I cannot see well
enough to understand how people are moving.

This actually brings up something kind of funny.  I am taking an opera
studio class.  We learn scenes from an opera and perform in this
class.  Well, part of this class is acting, which I really enjoy, but
the other day our director had us playing this mirroring game.  You
would pare with a partner and mirror there facial expressions and body
language, and then they would mirror yours in turn.  Obviously, I had
a problem with this activity.  My director tried to make it work.  She
had me feel my partner's face to figure out the facial expressions.
Thankfully, the girl I was working with and I are friends, otherwise,
that would have been really awkward.  It also did not help to feel her
face.  It helped more when she was describing to me what she was
doing.

Facial expressions are not particularly easy for me, but I find good
descriptions helpful.  They have to be good though, or they won't make
sense.
I honestly think that part of the movement thing is because we can't
see others moving, but that doesn't mean we can't learn.  I'm sure
there are really awesome dancers who are blind.  The blindness may
make copying movements more difficult, but that shouldn't stop us from
trying.  My vocal coach and I are working on getting my  movements to
look more natural on stage, because like Jim, I am quite statuous.
Are there any blind dancers out there?  This is a question I have
always wondered.  I like this topic.

On 9/17/10, Hope Paulos <hope.paulos at gmail.com> wrote:
> These are interesting questions. I'm a musician as well, and have been told
> the same things. People say that I need to have a more positive facial
> expression. Since I've been totally blind since birth, facial expressions
> are confusing to me. I don't know if I'm looking positive or negative even
> though  I'm enjoying playing bass in the band very much. Any help would be
> greatly appreciated.
> Good topic,
> Jim.
> Hope and guide dog, Beignet
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jim" <jp100 at earthlink.net>
> To: "Jim" <jp100 at earthlink.net>
> Sent: Friday, September 17, 2010 1:13 PM
> Subject: [nabs-l] Can a person's movement be affected by blindness?
>
>
>> 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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-- 
Julie McG
 Lindbergh High School class of 2009, participating member in Opera
Theater's Artist in Training Program, and proud graduate of Guiding
Eyes for the Blind

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal
life."
John 3:16