Junior Teaches Expression Through Movement

Junior Fiona Chazen had a much larger and unique goal in mind when she chose to learn American Sign Language through an Independent Study last semester. 

“I became interested in learning ASL because I have always been fascinated by the beauty of a language that can be communicated entirely without sound,” Chazen said. “The idea that meaning, emotion and connection can exist beyond spoken words immediately drew me in.” 

Chazen completed part of an online course that gave her a good base in the language. She hopes to continue to learn the language, which can take from three to eight years to fully master. In the meantime, her newfound knowledge is instrumental in her next endeavor, inspired by her love of another wordless expression, dance. 

Having danced most of her life, Chazen has worked to spread her love of dance to others in many ways, including starting Parker Groovers, an Intermediate School club that meets in the morning to learn choreography and different dance styles. Armed with her new ASL skills, Chazen sought to expand her dance teaching skills to children who are deaf or hard of hearing. 

“I see an opportunity to create spaces where deaf and hard of hearing students can experience the same joy, freedom and self-expression that dance has always given me—without needing to hear the music,” Chazen said. She connected with the Cooper Dual Language School to pilot new dance classes with their students and has already had great success. 

The class starts with a warmup using balloons to help participants feel the vibrations produced by the bass of a speaker. They then play different dance games, work on facial expressions and copy each other’s dance moves. The next step is to start learning a group dance they perform together. Chazen hopes to continue mastering ASL and is excited to see her students thrive in dance.

Through this Independent Study, Chazen can further explore and combine two of her great passions and spread the joy of dance in a new way. Parker thrives when students acquire new skills, explore different perspectives and contribute back to the community. The school wishes Chazen the best as she continues this work and looks forward to what she does next!

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