Deaf raves
Wednesday 11 July 2007
If you are deaf and can’t hear the music, how can you go raving? n2k finds out.
The stats
Taking into account the whole range of hearing impairment - from slightly hard of hearing to profoundly deaf - the Royal National Institute for the Deaf estimates that close to 9 million people in Britain have some degree of hearing loss.
So what’s the difference? People who are deaf but not born deaf are called ‘partially deaf/hearing’, those who have eventually lost their hearing are called ‘hard of hearing’.
Deaf raving
Deaf Rave is an organization that puts on parties especially for all deaf people. It was started over four years ago by Troi Lee, aka DJ Chinaman, who was born totally deaf. Asked once to DJ by deaf friends at a house party, he was so successful that his next move was to hold his own parties which he called Deaf Raves. That was in 2003 and since then he’s run regular events and raised loads of money for deaf charities.
Check out this very cool video from Deaf Raves.
Feeling It
Speak to anyone in the deaf community and you will find that most see being deaf not as a disability but about communicating in a different way. BSL or British Sign Language, became the official sign language in the UK in 2003 and is used by around 250,000 deaf people in the UK. It is a language of space and movement using the hands, body, face and head.
At a rave for deaf people, the idea is to physically feel the music through the bass and the beats. The rumble of the bassline can be felt through the floor and there is also lighting that changes colour with the music.
At a deaf rave you can also find performers signing, comedians and rap battles both using sign language and even karaoke where members of the audience sign along to the music.
Deaf Raves have built a reputation in the UK and abroad and recently, the Deaf Rave DJs played in France at the Deaf Festival Weekender for a crowd of over 3000 deaf and hard of hearing young people from around the world.
Community
There is a strong sense of community amongst the deaf and partial hearing. As well as Deaf Raves where you can go and experience the latest music, there are more than 300 deaf social clubs across the country.
As campaigners work hard to represent deaf people in the wider community, more and more event promoters are becoming aware of how to include deaf people.
There are now two terrestrial TV magazine shows, See Hear (BBC2) and Vee TV (Channel4), both presented in BSL by deaf presenters, and a deaf drama, Switch which has just finished its fourth series on BBC2.
This weekend will see Latitude Festival opening its gates to deaf festival goers for the second time. Promoters working with an organisation called Attitude is Everything and have made special arrangements for deaf and hard of hearing festival goers. These include two British Sign Language interpreters, a deafblind interpreter and a Loop system in some of the arenas which cuts down on background noise that can be caused by hearing aids.
Communication
Remeber that if you’re not hearing impaired and don’t know sign language you can still communicate with those that do. RNID have these tips:-
- Don't shout, just speak clearly - take the time to communicate properly with someone with a hearing loss. Deaf and hard of hearing people can feel isolated and excluded. Learning how to communicate with someone with a hearing loss can make a real difference.
- Learn to fingerspell - It's as easy as A-Z! You can use fingerspelling to communicate with someone who uses British Sign Language.
Are you deaf or hard of hearing and enjoy music and going out clubbing? n2k wants to hear your story.
