The Gallaudet Dance Company, founded in 1955, is a performing group of Deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing dancers. The dancers come from diverse backgrounds, with a range of hearing levels, preferred communication modes, primary school education, and current major field of study as a university student. They rely on their vision as their primary mode of communication and express themselves through their dancing in a variety of styles including Jazz, Hip-Hop, Modern, Lyrical Ballet, and dance that uses American Sign Language (ASL) as its foundation.

All members of the company are undergraduate or graduate students at Gallaudet University, the world’s only accredited liberal arts university for Deaf and hard of hearing students. Gallaudet University is a bilingual community where students, faculty, and staff communicate with each other in both American Sign Language and English. The bilingual approach is a cornerstone of the Gallaudet Dance Company from rehearsal to the stage, creating a dynamic fusion of ASL and dance. The company is acclaimed for performances at the White House, and on stages in Egypt, Israel, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, Peru, Barbados, St. Lucia, Brazil, Guatemala, South Korea, the Bahamas, and France, as well as participation in the International film “Dancing Joy.”

For booking information, please click on the “Bookings” tab. Please note that the company typically books 3 to 6 months in advance.
To book the Gallaudet Dance Company, call (202) 651-5501 V/TDD or e-mail: susan.gill-doleac@gallaudet.edu and/or juanita.cebe@gallaudet.edu.

* Please note the company is not able to satisfy all of the many requests it receives; however, we encourage all interested parties to reach out and we will try our best to accommodate if possible.

For more information on dance techniques for Deaf and hard of hearing dancers and/or our teaching methods, click on the "Techniques" tab and/or read the article by Dr. Diane Hottendorf and Mrs. Sue Gill-Doleac entitled, "Deaf Dancers Celebrate 50 Years of Dance! Teaching Dance to Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students: The Gallaudet University Way" Dancer Magazine, March 2005, 42 - 45.