Disney Music Group Teams up with Deaf West Theatre to release ASL Music Video

Disney Music Group has teamed up with Tony Award®-winning Deaf West Theatre to release an American Sign Language (ASL) version of the Billboard chart-topping song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Walt Disney Animation Studio’s Encanto, in celebration of International Day of Sign Languages, on September 23rd.

“The impact this film has on children cannot be dismissed. The majority of Deaf children are born to hearing families and sometimes the only exposure to the community and sign language is through videos like this. By working with Disney Music Group on expanding the access to one of their songs to the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing communities brings us immense pride.

We’ve previously collaborated with Disney Music Group on ASL videos for World Princess Week and Encanto’s ‘Surface Pressure,’ and are excited by our continued collaborative relationship advancing inclusion,” said DJ Kurs, Deaf West’s Artistic Director.

Featuring an all-Deaf Colombian and Latinx cast, this signed video adaptation of the song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” utilises both American Sign Language (ASL) and Colombian Sign Language (LSC, Lengua de Señas Colombiana) to add additional layers of authenticity and poetry to the song. The sung English lyrics were translated into ASL and CSL by a team of Sign Language Choreographers who worked through the text to find the best and most accurate translation into sign and once complete it comes together into a seamless ballet of sign and music.

The video features Nataly Barahona (Pepa), Andres Otalora (Felix), Donna Valverde (Mirabel and Abuela), Jasmine Garcia (Isabela), Joseph Rocha(Camilo) and Andrea Rodriguez (Dolores). The principle creatives include Donna Valverde and Nataly Barahona (ASL Choreographers), Andres Otalora(Director of Photography), and Austin Balaich (Editor).

The Encanto Original Motion Picture Soundtrack features eight original songs by Academy Award-nominated, Tony® and Grammy®-winning songwriter/composer Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Hamilton,” “Moana”) with an original score by Academy Award-nominated composer Germaine Franco.

The R.I.A.A. Platinum-certified soundtrack held the No. 1 position on the Billboard 200 album chart for 9 non-consecutive weeks and the R.I.A.A. 3x Platinum-certified song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” topped the Hot 100 chart for 5 weeks. The soundtrack and song held the No. 1 position on the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 simultaneously for five consecutive weeks.

Founded in Los Angeles in 1991, Tony Award®-winning Deaf West Theatre(Artistic Director, DJ Kurs), engages artists and audiences in unparalleled theatre experiences inspired by Deaf culture and the expressive power of sign language, weaving American Sign Language (ASL) with spoken English to create a seamless ballet of movement and voice.

Committed to innovation, collaboration, and training, Deaf West Theatre is the artistic bridge between the Deaf and hearing worlds and a trusted resource for authentic storytelling and casting in film, television, and video projects.

In 2005, Deaf West Theatre was selected to receive the Highest Recognition Award by the Secretary of Health and Human Services for its “distinguished contributions to improve and enrich the culture lives of Deaf and hard of hearing actors and theatre patrons.

You can watch the official ASL version of “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” music video here.

For more information on Deaf West please visit DeafWest.org
Facebook: @DeafWestTheatre
Instagram: @DeafWest
Twitter: @DeafWest

British Sign Language users will also be pleased to know that there are BSL versions of songs from Encanto too with Deaf Talent Collective responsible for producing accessible translations. You can find the BSL version of ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’ here: https://youtu.be/7kPDOKBDL5A

You can also find out more about Deaf Talent Collective here https://www.deaftalentcollective.com/