Blind Ballroom Dancers in Stellenbosch

MDS dance coach, Gladys Bullock, correcting the posture of blind dancers, Jeanie Rudolph 

and Rynhardt Kruger, posing for a photograph.

Blind dancers Rynhardt Kruger and Jeanie Rudolph were amongst the show ponies for the Maties Dance Society’s (MDS) inaugural event in Stellenbosch.

Both visually impaired students danced the Quickstep and the Ramba with their partners at the opening function on Thursday evening at Academia Hall.

  The function was aimed at recruiting new members for this year. The MDS is a student organisation which offers Ballroom and Latin American dance classes for an assortment of dancers: beginners, intermediates, advanced, adultBlind dancers Rynhardt Kruger and Jeanie Rudolph were amongst the show ponies for the Maties Dance Society’s (MDS) inaugural event in Stellenbosch.

Both visually impaired students danced the Quickstep and the Salsa with their partners at the opening function on Thursday evening at Academia Hall.

  The function was aimed at recruiting new members for this year. The MDS is a student organisation which offers Ballroom and Latin American dance classes for an assortment of dancers: beginners, intermediates, advanced, adult and differently-abled dancers like Kruger and Rudolph.

  The society’s dance teacher, Gladys Bullock, coaches three to twelve pupils in the differently-abled class, of which the majority of pupils are visually impaired.

  Bullock, who has been teaching differently-abled individuals since 1994, says the |class calls for a very hands-on approach. Bullock moves the limbs of the dancers into position, she uses tactile cues and abundant verbal communication to describe and reinforce dance routines.

  "If you take our hands and show us what to do with the steps, then we'll transfer the moves to our legs. Seeing people see what to do with their eyes. We see with our hands. So it's basically the same,” explains Rudolph.

  "The problem is a seeing person can watch from the sidelines and correct themselves, but we can't do that. Everything must be communicated to us,” says Kruger. 

  Kruger points out that maintaining direction poses a unique obstacle for blind male dancers. Whilst Rudolph follows the lead of her seeing partner, Kruger must take the lead when dancing. He relies on predetermined cues from his seeing partner, like a tap on the shoulder, to direct his steps within the borders of the dance floor.

  "Other than that, I'm faced with the same challenges sighted dancers experience like dancing with a very tall girl,” grins Kruger.

  There are no dance competitions for blind dancers; Kruger and Rudolph must compete with dancers who can see. Rudolph was disqualified from the Ballroom section in her most recent contest, the Intervarsity dance competition, for pinning her number upside down.

  Rudolph is a final year student in BA Language and Culture at the University of Stellenbosch and plans to advance one level in her dance career every year. Kruger hopes to complete his master’s degree in Computer Sciences at the University of Stellenbosch this year and says he will definitely continue dancing if he stays in Stellenbosch next year.