Mncane - S/He is small (Signing Hip Hop Afrofusion)

This video originated from a dance project with hearing impaired and mentally challenged kids at the Müsterlandschule, Germany. For nearly two years I learned German sign language (DGS) while dancing with the children to a diversity of music and urban dance styles on a weekly basis. We especially enjoyed the songs of Muzi, who generously allowed us to use his songs and upload them to social media. For this choreography I translated the Zulu lyrics of the song Mncane (meaning she/he is small in English) into German sign language and transformed the signs into more elaborate but still appropriate moves, which every child interpreted and performed in their own way. In December 2019 we presented our 4 months rehearsals putting these movements together with an end improvasation of those who wanted to show what they trained in addition to the choreography. This videos shows part of the process and the presentation, a lot of love and how good music had the power to connect us regardless of age, cultural background, gender or disability. Special thanks need to be given to: ** Muzi for being a phenomenal musician and giving his permission to use his art in this context ** Mr. Gronert and Mr. Vermeersch for bridging language, culture and emotion barriers with never ending love, patience and enthusiasm* Kreativhaus Münster for recognizing the enormous effect of music and dance on children and fostering access to unexceptionally everyone* Shirtcut Münster for providing us T-shirts imprinted with my design especially for this group for an extremely slim price to support the kids and the project* Saskia Adom for filming and getting in touch with the group without any reservations* All the educational assistants, interns and helpers and especially THE DANCERS who worked eagerly to make the Thursday classes a special time for everyone* Song: Mncane · Muzi feat. Samthing Soweto (   • Mncane  ) Choreography by Pia Selders Filmed by Saskia Adom Edited by Pia Selders Contact info: Muzi: @mvziou (Instagram) Kreativhaus: https://kreativ-haus.de/ Shirtcut: [email protected] Saskia Adom: @art.dom_photography (Instagram) Pia Selders: @bgirl_meow (Instagram) Parental permission was given (except for our guest star Mr. Cat ;-) ) for the kids (and adults) visible in the video. Artist permission was given by the artist himself.