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December 13, 2016Deaf Indian Boy Wows Judges on ‘Super Dancer’
A deaf boy with exceptional dancing skills left the judges and audience in tears recently on the Indian Hindi reality dance television series, ‘Super Dancer.’
Harsh Dhara from Jalgaon, India wowed judges on the dance competition show, winning a place as a wild card entry.
While the video unfortunately doesn’t have captions, you can see the emotional response to his dance, as judges were mesmerized by his energy and passion for dance, despite his hearing loss.
The young contestant’s ability to step to the beat was a big shock to the audience and judges, with many still in awe, wondering how could make those moves without the ability to hear anything.
As a special turn in the show, Harsha also received the gift of Phonak SKY V50 hearing aids.
The hearing aids were the first ones he’s ever tried, according to Phonak India. He has also since been motivated to undergo extensive speech therapy.
“When he wore the hearing aid, Harsh spoke in an indistinct voice,” according to Phonak India. “All in all, he called out the three judges by their names. He uttered, ‘Papa, Geeta ma, Shilpa Shetty and Anurag Basu.’ This was the most electrifying moment of the show when tears rolled down the cheeks. Everyone applauded, as a sign of happiness for the little boy. It seems the little boy had more than everybody else.”
The boy’s choreography teacher, Gaurav Nathani couldn’t hide his big smile and tears of joy either. When asked to speak, Gaurav said that he devoted himself to train Harsh how to dance even if he couldn’t speak or hear anything.
“I decided to take up the challenge to teach Harsh and since he could not listen, I communicated with him through gestures,” said Gaurav Nathani, who is Harsh’s dance teacher, on the show. “Now he can hear quite well, but will have to undergo speech therapy before he can respond to sounds properly. It’s a happy moment for us.”
“It’s a happy moment for us.”
Harsh isn’t the first deaf dancer to make it on television this year. Nyle DiMarco, a deaf model who rose to fame when he was crowned “America’s Next Top Model,” won America’s “Dancing with the Stars” title this summer.
The show ‘Super Dancer’ airs on on Sony Entertainment Television and Sony Entertainment Television Asia. The Hindi language dance competition aims to find a child between the ages of 4-13 who has the potential to become the next dance sensation in India.
