Deaf disco turns up the bass for hard of hearing

By Jonathan Brown

First there was Death Disco, now there is deaf disco. Or, more accurately, a "multi-sensory club night for both the hearing and hearing-impaired".

A groundbreaking event which has earned a loyal following in the Netherlands, Finland, South Africa and Australia is arriving in the UK, hoping to bring together deaf and other revellers.

The attractions at Sencity London 2011 will include a vibrating dance floor, aroma jockeys who pump the air full of different scents to accompany the music, as well as signing dancers who interpret tracks for hearing-impaired club-goers.

There will be a host of other non-audio sensory stimulation on offer to augment the music, including hair dressers, masseurs and make-up artists.

Also playing will be deaf rapper Signmark from Finland, who uses sign language to communicate his lyrics, as well as DJ Chinaman from the long-running Deaf Rave.

The event at IndigO2 at the O2 arena in London is organised by an eight-strong team of deaf and hearing-impaired young people. They are hoping to attract 1,500 people, aged between 18 and 35, in October.

The director of the British show, Nienke van der Peet, said there was still a lot of misunderstanding surrounding deaf people.

"The idea is to bring people together because still today some people can be a little frightened by deaf people. Even older people can still refer to people with no hearing as being deaf and dumb. But the idea of this night is to show that deaf people can be just as cool and fun as hearing people," she said.

"The only difference is language. They still go out and enjoy music but experience it in different ways."