Community Story

Maya

Deaf Dancer

“My name is Maya. Being part of the Deaf community started very early, even though I was implanted. I went to Deaf preschool, and it was really amazing as a kid to know that you're not alone as, like, a Deaf person. I recognize that I really like music from a really young age. I would take off my cochlear implants, and I would listen to the vibrations in the speakers of my parents playing music. Vibration is a really big part, and feeling is a really big part of the Deaf community. I always would see people do dance, and it felt like they had a completely different experience of music because they were dancing to it and, like, moving their body to the beats. And so I decided to do it, took a leap of faith. It's really cool to feel the music in the way that you're moving your body. It's kind of a mind, body, ear, cochlear implant connection. The Tactus vest really amplifies the way vibrations and music are felt through vibrations. So it's a different way to experience music and is more aligned with how Deaf people would feel music. That's also why I like dance is because I can feel the music while moving to it. So that's, like, a big part of why, as a Deaf person, I appreciate music in, like, a different way.”