We have reached the beginning od 2022… On this occasion, we decided to share an inspiring story; the story of a deaf-mute young man who dances and teaches others to dance. Another story about the defiant power of the human spirit. We found the story on the Facebook page of the BBC in Serbian, and the text on this page.
Andrey is a young deaf guy from St. Petersburg (Russia), born in 1991. in a deaf family. He started to be attracted to dances since he was 15 years old. He memorized and practiced the movements until he did a performance at his school with such success that it motivated him to continue dancing. At one point in his life, it became clear to him that he could no longer stop dancing.
Andrey began studying at the University of Law, but in the second year he dropped out because of his involvement with the group 158 Crew, with which he reached the finals of the World Hip-Hop Championship in 2015, in which 3,700 dancers from 50 countries participated! Here you can watch their performance on the Championship.
To integrate into the group, Andrey concentrates on the vibrations he feels in his body and through his feet, works intensely on the rhythm and follows the movements of his partners closely. His classmates began learning sign language to communicate with Andrey.
2015 was the year he also decided to take part in the TV dance contest Dance on TNT, a competition of dance talents in Russia. He was very hesitant to apply at first, but finally agreed because, as he said: “I wanted to show that deafness is not a barrier. There are difficulties, as in any other competition, but they must be overcome”. After competing, he received a large number of invitations to teach and the doors have been opened to new projects, including a photo exhibition, a new show with his 158 Crew and the launch of a clothing collection. A BBC video in Serbian states that he is organizing dance workshops for children from poor families who want to learn to dance.
Andrey is deaf and he dances!
If you still have not started to dance, it is time to do so!
Thank You for being with us this year. We wish you Healthy and Meaningful 2022!
Sources:
https://www.unusualverse.com/2021/01/andrey-dragunov-deaf-finger-tutting-dancer.html
https://www.instagram.com/dragunovandrey/
https://www.bbc.com/serbian/cyr/mozaik-44727816
Photo: pexels.com/cottonbro
