Rainbow Fund supports the the Rainbow Chorus to make their concerts accessible to the Deaf community.
A singing group supporting the Deaf community might sound like an oxymoron, but it’s an initiative the Rainbow Chorus has been doing for some time, in recognition of the fact that the Deaf are one of the most marginalised groups in the LGBT+ communities.
Regulars to concerts by the Rainbow Chorus will know that Marco Nardi has sign-interpreted their concerts for several years, catering to a small but growing Deaf following as well as highlighting the choreographic beauty of sign language to hearing audience members.
In addition, at each concert the choir performs a few songs accompanied by basic Sign Supported English in a bid to make the show more inclusive.
Thanks to a grant from the Rainbow Fund, the choir commissioned Marco to create this video to encourage more of the Deaf community to go along to the Rainbow Chorus’ concerts.
In the video, Marco is interpreting Time to Say Goodbye to show that Rainbow Chorus concerts can be interesting to those who are deaf. He talks about other songs in the repertoire and then goes on to give details about the date and other important information about the concert.
Feedback from the Deaf community is positive, individuals appreciating the Brighton-based choir’s approach which makes them feel part of a community from which they previously felt excluded.
The next plan is to form a working group to come up with other ideas to further increase inclusivity for the Deaf community.
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