Hearns Sebuado on being a deaf dancer with a cochlear implant – and enjoying watching Tasha Ghouri on Strictly (BSL)

Hi everyone, my name is Hearns Sebuado, I am a deaf freelance dancer and actor based in London. I use BSL to communicate as well as English depending on the environment I am in.

I have been dancing for 22 years now and have spent the last 10 years as a professional freelance dancer and actor. I am originally from the Philippines with Hip Hop and Latin roots. I trained for three years at College studying for a National Diploma in Performing Arts which was in a musical theatre style and then I spent three years at Middlesex University. There I studied more technical styles of dance such as ballet, jazz and modern contemporary such as the works of Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey.

I fell in love with dancing because of the way the movement communicates and expresses my emotions. There was a time growing up I felt like I couldn’t say things – so I learnt to dance with it and I let my movement do all the talking. Its such a great, freeing expression of arts.

I fell in love with Ballroom and Latin American styles of dance back when I was five years old in the Philippines. I remember I saw a couple dancing the Cha Cha Cha and preparing for a dance competition. I was in such awe watching them! How they moved, the energy, stamina and expressions through the movement was so unreal!

I then started to join classes and  learned Salsa, Mambo, Rumba and Jive! I told myself so clearly “I want to be a dancer!”

For me, dance is a very visual story and abstract type of art. It is a way for your emotions to come out through the movement and for you to communicate with the audience. You want to make the audience feel things and for them to figure out what story is being told through the dance.

My favourite ballroom dance is Argentine Tango! I performed in that style at Sadlers Wells, which was my first time ever doing it.  It was tough with a lot of ground and core work. Technically it is a difficult dance especially as there are a lot of steps and intricate footwork that needs to be maintained without losing the technique of it all. It also gives you a ‘Beunos Aires’ feeling.

My favourite Latin dance – well I have two! They are definitely the Jive and the Rumba. They are two very different techniques and distinct energies. Jive is known to be fast, energetic with lots of flicks and kicks whereas Rumba is sensual, slow. You also have to show beautiful lines, control and isolations. Rumba is definitely the hardest dance especially for a Male dancer.

I am very excited to see another deaf contestant – Tasha Ghouri – participate on Strictly Come Dancing, having watched Rose (Ayling-Ellis) blossom into a remarkable dancer. I am also excited to see Tasha’s journey and see how she is able to adapt to different techniques that she has never done before.

Tasha is known for her hip hop and commercial dance, so seeing her do this and evolve from her usual dance style is really exciting! I can’t wait to see how she will be able to adapt Latin and Ballroom techniques.

I actually had my cochlear implant in 2020 during the Pandemic. As it is still only recent, I am still picking up new sounds and it does takes time for my brain to fully process what the sounds are. Compared to when I wore hearing aids, however, my cochlear implant has helped improve the quality of the sound I hear when dancing. The beats are more powerful too.

I feel proud to see Tasha showing off her cochlear implant – it shows that there is no reason to hide it and you can be proud to wear it without feeling insecure. I love how the Strictly team has decorated her processor to match her outfits.

There are some disadvantages to being a dancer with a cochlear implant, however. In my experience, I remember the first time I danced and my processor keep coming off every time I did a pirouette or jumped up.

I had the same issue when I was performing in Berlin. I would put tape on my coil and behind my processor yet after dancing intense choreography I would be so sweaty that the tape would come off and affect my processor. It’s not easy unless there you have got strong invisible tape that make it possible for the processor to withstand jumps, spins and long lasting dance routines.

Tasha is doing pretty good on Strictly so far! However, I would love to see her push herself a little bit more, and loosen up, she already has experience as a dancer and she can apply this in her performance.

From my perspective, performance wise I know she will do well with a routine and she is able to pick up choreography quickly too. Yet at some point I feel like she is holding back and playing it a bit too safe instead of going with  full blown performance that will leave the viewers gobsmacked. I am missing the wow factor at the moment.

I think Alijaz (her professional partner) is doing pretty well adapting to Tasha’s needs when it comes to timing. He does give her visual cues from what I have seen on the show which allow her to keep in time with music. Watching the rehearsals process I also feel like Tasha has adapted really well – I don’t know how much she can hear with her cochlear implant – but I am guessing she does lipread pretty well too!

Being a dancer who wears a cochlear implant, it does take time to process things especially as we have to listen to the same song over and over again  in order to be able to get the beat right. But it is worth working hard for!

I am currently doing a research and development project called ‘Royal in my heart’ and I am also collaborating with a company to arrange a touring show. I do have two goals of my own; to work in film and also to create new musical theatre.

Keep dancing!

By Hearns Sebuado