Silent Dance Performance by Kazakh Theater Highlights Expressive Dance Artistry
The Sensitive Dance Theater, based in Petropavlovsk, Kazakhstan, is a professional dance company exclusively for children with hearing impairments. Founded in 2006, it has grown from a small school club to a nationally recognized ensemble that has won 16 Grand Prix titles and over 40 awards at national and international competitions[1][4].
The artistic director and executive leader, Olga Rostovshchikova, began her journey into this world almost by chance while studying choreography in college. She was inspired to work with children with hearing disabilities when a professor mentioned a school seeking a ballroom dance instructor for these children[1]. Despite challenges such as limited technology and communication mostly through pen and notebook during the first year, she persevered in developing techniques to teach movement, emotions, rhythm, and musicality to children who do not hear in the conventional sense[1].
The theater company has expanded its repertoire over the years, mastering a range of styles including modern choreography, classical ballet, Kazakh folk dance, Latin and European ballroom, contemporary, and plastic theater with sign-language musical numbers[2][3]. Their performances communicate through movement, vibration, and emotion, creating a unique language that transcends sound and celebrates deaf culture[1][2][3].
Training for the Sensitive Dance Theater is structured, with younger children using play-based methods and shorter sessions, while older students train more rigorously[5]. The ensemble regularly performs alongside actors from the Sabit Mukanov Kazakh Music and Drama Theater, and presents plastic performances that combine dance and visual storytelling[5].
Before learning choreography, students of the Sensitive Dance Theater first listen to music through physical sensation, feeling low-frequency vibrations[6]. Rostovshchikova finds teaching musicality to be the hardest part as deaf dancers do not have auditory feedback[7]. Over the years, Rostovshchikova has developed a teaching methodology for deaf children and trained multiple teams with varying themes and artistic goals[1].
One of the dreams of the Sensitive ensemble is to stage a musical with Egor Druzhinin in Moscow and tour across Europe[8]. They also aim to open branches nationwide to support more talented children and expand their creative family[9]. The Sensitive ensemble is also working to formally establish the Federation of Ballroom Dance Sport for the Hearing Impaired in Kazakhstan[10].
Rostovshchikova has helped several of her students pursue degrees in choreography and cultural studies[1]. Under her leadership, the Sensitive Dance Theater continues to empower deaf children in Kazakhstan, giving them a platform for artistic expression through dance.
[1] https://www.sensitivedance.kz/ [2] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/25/deaf-dance-troupe-kazakhstan-sensitive-perform-without-sound [3] https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20181024-the-deaf-dancers-who-dance-without-sound [4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pzvQs3sL9k [5] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/25/deaf-dance-troupe-kazakhstan-sensitive-perform-without-sound [6] https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20181024-the-deaf-dancers-who-dance-without-sound [7] https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20181024-the-deaf-dancers-who-dance-without-sound [8] https://www.sensitivedance.kz/ [9] https://www.sensitivedance.kz/ [10] https://www.sensitivedance.kz/
- Olga Rostovshchikova's journey into the world of dance and education-and-self-development began as she found herself inspired to work with children with hearing disabilities.
- Under Rostovshchikova's leadership, the Sensitive Dance Theater not only empowers deaf children in Kazakhstan but also provides them with opportunities for further education-and-self-development, such as degrees in choreography and cultural studies.
