CODA actor Daniel Durant illustrates "what it's like to dance from a deaf perspective" on Dancing With The Stars

Daniel Durant and his partner Britt Stewart turned the music off and danced in silence during their powerful performance last Monday

By Emma Keates  |  November 8, 2022 | 4:48pm
Aux News Daniel Durant
CODA actor Daniel Durant illustrates
Daniel Durant and his partner Britt Stewart on Dancing With The Stars Photo: ABC/Eric McCandless

After his stunning performance in 2021's Academy Award-winning CODA, Daniel Durant is inviting hearing audiences to understand another facet of the deaf experience: what it’s like to dance without being able to hear the music.

Durant is a contestant on the current season of Dancing With The Stars (the third deaf contestant to compete on the show following CODA co-star Marlee Matlin in 2008 and 2016 winner, America’s Next Top Model’s Nyle DiMarco) and brought judges to tears last night with his partner Britt Stewart by turning off the music halfway through their routine.

“This week, I really want to give the audience and the judges an idea of what it’s like to dance from a deaf perspective,” the actor shared in a rehearsal montage. Durant and Stewart’s powerful jazz performance—cheekily set to Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy The Silence”—is not available on YouTube at the time of publication, but is available to stream on Disney+ starting at the 37-minute mark.

“The world is proud of you… It was like magic, we felt the sound of silence and we were all mesmerized. What you do out here is so special. It is a gift to us,” shared judge Bruno Tonioli before awarding the pair a perfect 10. Former DWTS-professional-turned-judge Derek Hough also called the dance “insanely powerful… because it made me realize how much I depend on the music.”

Durant is no stranger to the stage. He also starred as Moritz Steifel in Deaf West Theatre’s Tony-nominated 2015 revival of Spring Awakening, which paired deaf and hearing actors in each role and incorporated ASL into the choreography. Durant and Stewart took a similar approach on DWTS a few weeks ago, bringing Durant’s interpreter on stage to perform alongside the pair.

“I’m so happy to show up and keep showing the world that there are different types of deaf people and that we can dance. It doesn’t matter if we can hear or not,” the actor said in an interview with Hollywood Life. “There are so many other things we can do, and we can figure it out and dance smoothly.”

Dancing With The Stars streams Mondays on Disney+.

 
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