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

[Jedi]

The easiest way I've found to learn facial expressions (the ones that 
go outside the basics), is to read a pay attention to how the 
characterst respond. Authors generally have to describe facial 
expressions to you as they describe dialogue and inner thoughts. 
Noticing patterns between these aspects can be quite helpful.

Respectfully,
Jedi

Original message:
> 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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