Evening star., 1925-06-09
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL y. COLLINS.

In artistic circles the interpretive
dance" is accepted as a fine art
There will be an interpretive dance"
this evening without any dancing
far more interpretive than was ever
performed either by whirling der
wishes or arm-swaying, feet-fying
terpischorean artists. 1t will be at
the graduating exercises of Gallaudet
College for the Deaf.
Galiaudet College has 116 pupils
and it's associated Kendall School for
Deaf Children has SIS. There are 13
graduates. a postgraduate, who
takes a master of arts degree, and 6
graduates from the normal course.
The graduating exercises will be con-
Quoted largely in the sign language,
but the spectator, who is not versed
in the arbitrary signs of the deaf,
will forget that he is seeing" the
language instead of hearing speech,
for it is so realistic in pantomine that
it is truly interpretative, even to the
uninitiated.
Dramatic selections are rendered
with signs or pantomine as thrilling
as a modern movie" and, as in the
case of the movie" the beholder
scarcely misses the spoken word, es-
pecially- after he picks up a few of
the universal signs: The two hands
against the head, wiggling forward
like the wagging ears of horse
of course that is a horse; wiggling
backward-who would fail to recog-
nize a mule? A gesture like Stroking
the cats whiskers-pussy, naturally.
Clasped hands means marriage. But
who can tell what means divorce?
Bent elbow. with hand erect-noon;
with hand slowly passing toward the
horizontal arm-the passing after
noon, toward sunset: if one hand
creeps up from behind that level
arm, it means sunrise.
How simple and easy is 1t all!
How fascinating to watch the sweet
girl graduate" recite a beautiful
poem in such pantomine; or robust
young man thrillingly ''interpret"
Paul Revere's ride, What a wonder
work if certain debates presided over
by the descendant of the companion
of Paul Revere should not only adopt
cloture of debate but even the Gallau-
det method of speech through the
entire eloquent arguments!
X x X X
People who speak with tongues do
not usually realize how much of their
communication is done, or is empha-
sized by sign language. 1t is some
times SalQ tndl d TISllSLiioh NOuiA
be mute if his hands were tied. Ger
tainly most orators would feel choked
with manacles on their wrists, and
their greatest flights of oratory would
be in a tail spin before they left the
ground. Sign language is not new.
In Luke i:62, it is recorded; nd
they made signs to his father how ne
would have him called"
Every baby first learns by signs.
Sign language is a condition pfece-
dent of all language. 1t was a com
mon and intertribal means OF com
munication among American Indians
before the white man came. 1t is an
efficient substitute for vocal language
for the deaf. In addition to the sign
languasee, the deaf who have lost
hearing after having learned TO ltaik
are also instructed in articulation and
in lip reading, even though completely
deaf. and are thus enabled TO carry
on conversation with persons unfa-
miliar with the language or the NIT
ting hands. 1t is rare that the con-
penitallv deaf from birth can be taught
lin reading or oral language, though
executions are known.
The oral method of teaching the
deaf was invented in Scotland in the
latter half of the eighteenth century
hv family named Braidwood, which
retained the secret of the method. 1t
was brought to America in 1872 by a
d;ssinated son of that family, who I'M
dertook to found a school in Balti-