Nyle DiMarco, a model, actor and activist, who is deaf, won ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” competition Tuesday night alongside professional dancer and partner Peta Murgatroyd.
“The only thing you have proved is that the only boundaries are the ones we put on ourselves,” DWTS judge Len Goodman said. “You get no sympathy votes from me. You deserve to be in the finals.”
“This competition is more than just about dancing and Nyle had an incredibly powerful message, I think, not just for the deaf community but for all humanity,” pro dancer Val Chmerkovskiy said.
During one of his “DWTS” routines on May 10, the music cut for 10-seconds, as he danced in silence, accompanied by four backup dancers. “A lot of people have labeled me as the deaf guy who can dance, but I think they don’t really understood how it works, the fact that I can’t hear anything at all, and we thought this would be a great opportunity to bring silence into the middle of the song,” DiMarco told “People” magazine.
Twitter completed exploded with excited congratulatory messages for Nyle, with Debbie Kay stating, “Nyle, thank you. We the deaf community feel like we’ve won the mirror ball with you!”
DiMarco, a spokesperson for Language Equality and Acquisition for Deaf Kids (LEAD-K), worked with California legislators to pass a bill aimed at alleviating language deprivation for deaf children ages 0-5, and is currently lobbying for a national bill mandating bilingualism in American Sign Language and English for Deaf children. He has spoken out against casting hearing actors in deaf roles.
http://themighty.com/2016/05/nyle-dimarco-deaf-contestant-wins-dancing-with-the-stars/
http://hollywoodlife.com/2016/05/25/nyle-dimarco-dancing-with-the-stars-win-fan-reaction-twitter/
