Dancing Seriously: Rose Ayling-Ellis Makes History As First Deaf Contestant and Her Emotional Silent Performance | News about Ant-Man & Art

Covering your dance partner Giovanni Pernice’s ears as the music slowly faded to silence, Rose Ayling-Ellis – the first deaf contestant on Serious Dancing – gave millions of people a brief but profound insight about her experience on the show.

Those 15 seconds during the pair’s participation in the Clean Bandit Symphony and Zara Larsson were immediately hailed as the show’s best moment by judge Anton Du Beke, who entered the dance competition. dance since it debuted in 2004, and there are many viewers on social media who say they have shed tears.

It’s a beautiful, simple insight into not only what Ayling-Ellis is overcoming to stay there between Seriously come to dancethe best performers each week – based on beat and vibration to find her rhythm – but also how much fun she feels doing it.

Ayling-Ellis has certainly made an impact. The RNID (Royal National Institute for the Deaf) told Sky News it saw a 71% increase in page views on its British Sign Language (BSL) online site between October and early December, compared with July to September. And Signature, the body that awards BSL courses, reported that 83,000 people visited its website in October – more than three times as many as 25,000 in September.

In the program, EastEnders The actress is accompanied by an interpreter and the production team has received cognitive training for the deaf and learned some sign language – and other contestants and presenters can often be seen on camera sign to clap.

Sitting with Pernice during the episode break, Ayling-Ellis told Sky News she’s proud of what she’s accomplished throughout the series.

“It’s great to be a part of history, to be the first deaf person [contestant] “I think that’s extremely important because it’s an opportunity to show off on such a big platform with millions of people watching and change their perception of what they think deaf people are,” she said. is how. I am very proud of that. “

Before the usual element of silence, Ayling-Ellis and Pernice received the earliest perfect 40 scores in the show’s 19-year history. They are the ones who love to win.

Pernice says the element of silence in Symphony is a “small understanding” of his partner’s experience for him as a dancer, but a “big understanding” for millions of people. looking at its impact. The professional dancer had the opportunity to wear a gear hat that would help him keep pace, he said, but decided against it.

“Rose’s impact on this show is so important to me and to everyone else watching. We stopped the music just to let people understand what Rose was going through. I’m really pleased with the results. what we’re doing because we’re entering the world of the deaf, that’s as common a word as anything else.

“NS [silent dance] is a rather short period of time. But the impact and gist of silence outweighs anything else. That made me as a professional dancer understand what she was going through and I think everyone at home did.

“At the beginning of [that] week, they give me like a belt that feels vibrating just to keep the rhythm. And then I thought, you know, Rose did this for 10 weeks without any belts. I should do the same. “

Ayling-Ellis says that moment made her feel like a winner. “I think it was always a very special moment for me that I will remember for the rest of my life,” she said. “I think I’m learning a lot about myself. Before Serious and now, I definitely feel like I’ve become a bit more confident and comfortable in my own skin.”

It’s no surprise that the star has been flooded with messages of support – and gratitude – from deaf audiences.

“They love it because it’s the first time they’ve seen a regular deaf person, every Saturday night they know, make sure, there’s a deaf person on the street. [Strictly]. And it shows their culture and community… because deaf people don’t just deaf people.

“It’s fun for them to be able to see that on such a big show. And for deaf kids too, they have a role model. A lot of us never had that growing up. .”

Not only that, Ayling-Ellis was even loved with the other contestants. Despite competing on the show herself, BBC Breakfast presenter Dan Walker described her dance in silence as “one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen on television” – and admitted to Sky News that he’s been voting for her “since day one”.

“My dad is deaf. I know how hard it is for him to stay out of a conversation or not feel a part of something because you can’t hear it. And I know from my own experience when how difficult is it for you to dance Listen music. So to do what she’s doing… I just think she’s amazing. “

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Mark Atkinson, chief executive officer at RNID, told Sky News the actress’ impact was “huge” – not only on the deaf community but also on those who can hear.

“The representation of the deaf on TV is important, especially on a big show like Seriously,” he said. “Many deaf people have told us how excited they are to see Rose break down barriers and show that deaf people can do anything – including dancing, acting and performing. to act.”

Mr Atkinson said it was “wonderful” to see the growing interest in sign language and that “even knowing a little bit” can make a difference. “Everyone at RNID is completely supportive of Rose and lovingly watches her progress through the competition,” he added.

“We hope that her success on Strictly opens even more opportunities for deaf and hard of hearing people to use their talents to their fullest. Rose is an outstanding dancer, co-ed dancer. She was a great role model at the time, and we hope she will do her best to win the contest and win the glitter ball.”

Ayling-Ellis, however, says she’s not thinking about winning or focusing on all the attention that’s pouring on her at the moment.

“Because it’s coming to an end now, I just really want to enjoy my experience because I’m not going to do this anymore,” she said. “I want to be able to look back and like I really enjoyed my time. And so did I.”