[nabs-l] Can a person's movement be affected by blindness?
Anjelina
anjelinac26 at gmail.com
Fri Sep 17 19:55:46 UTC 2010
Jim, this is an interesting topic and I've had many of the same questions.
As a child and into my teens I took tap and ballet and worked one-on-one
with a dance instructor who let me feel her body movements. For me it's
being a bit self-conscious; I don't like free dance because I worry how I
might look since comments I've received were honest observations, but I now
second guess myself. I've heard yoga is a great way to feel the differences
between true relaxation and rigidity.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Julie McGinnity" <kaybaycar at gmail.com>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, September 17, 2010 2:43 PM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Can a person's movement be affected by blindness?
> 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
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> nabs-l mailing list
>>> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>> nabs-l:
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/hope.paulos%40gmail.com
>>>
>>> __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus
>>> signature database 5458 (20100917) __________
>>>
>>> The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus.
>>>
>>> http://www.eset.com
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus
>> signature
>> database 5458 (20100917) __________
>>
>> The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus.
>>
>> http://www.eset.com
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> nabs-l mailing list
>> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> nabs-l:
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/kaybaycar%40gmail.com
>>
>
>
> --
> 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
>
> _______________________________________________
> nabs-l mailing list
> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nabs-l:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/anjelinac26%40gmail.com
>
More information about the NABS-L
mailing list