PAH! Deaf Dance Company

The PAH! Deaf Dance Company and academy is a Jamaican based dance troupe for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Dancers. It was founded in 2018 and 2023 respectively by Stephanie McIntyre Groves (Former Dancer and Jamaican Sign Language interpreter/tutor) through being inspired to offer opportunities for the Deaf community to hone their innate talent and use their ‘voice’ through the medium of dance to show how they excel and to show the world, their world through the lens of Deaf dancer.

 

With experience of over 16 years of service to the Jamaican Deaf community, the aim is to create a space for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing youth to create, express and release... leaving everything on the dance floor. In a world where they are not heard in their language or otherwise and often named as ‘The invisible disability’, this initiative is extremely important to their mental health.

 

The troupe started with 6 dancers and quickly grew to 12 in 2018. We currently have 8 dancers who are all Deaf/Hard of Hearing with an age range of 12-38 years old. Lead by Mrs. McIntyre Groves, all dancers who are committed to learn are welcome and are taught by a team of trained Hearing and Deaf dancers and supported by a committee of both Deaf and Hearing members, all of whom are volunteering.

 

PAH! Deaf Dance Company seeks to empower Deaf Jamaicans through dance:

• teaching them various dance genres and techniques

• giving them the opportunity to participate/perform in local and international dance festivals/workshops

• nurturing their creative dance potential equipping them with knowledge and skills to become dance choreographers

• Empowering and equipping the Deaf dancers in fundamental life skills to become models of success.

In Jamaica, the lack of communication access is one of the major (if not the major) issues faced by the Deaf community, this is followed very closely by the lack of job opportunities.

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At PAH! Deaf Dance Company we intend to play our part in finding solutions for these issues. Recently, we partnered with Edna Manley College, School of dance and CCCD (Knockpatrick) in teaching students at the grassroots level the basic techniques of various dance genres and transferable soft skills to aid them in navigating life and work opportunities. We also perform with the Company Dance Theatre (CDT) productions since December 2022. The aim is to expose Deaf children as early as possible so they can use dance as a possible income earner in the future and meaningfully contribute their part in nation building.

 

The PAH! Deaf Dance Company has partnered with various entities in the past, and is currently, and will continue to partner with other entities. We are currently in partnerships with Schools for the Deaf where we offer dance and exercise sessions for students, also with yoga instructors in designing and conducting Deaf friendly sessions; with hotels where our Deaf Dancers assist in conducting dance sessions for other Deaf children and other entities who from time to time ask for Deaf dancers to provide entertainment for their functions.