Daniel Durant dances without music in powerful Dancing With the Stars moment to model his experience as deaf performer
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And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music...
On Monday night's episode of Dancing With the Stars, actor Daniel Durant brought the audience to tears with his emotional '90s night performance in which he danced a portion of his jazz routine without audible music.
"This week, I really want to give the audience and the judges an idea of what it's like to dance from a deaf perspective," he said in his rehearsal package.
The moment came at the CODA actor's behest, wanting to show viewing audiences what it is like for him to dance as a deaf performer by cutting off the music halfway through his performance to "Enjoy the Silence" by Depeche Mode. It earned praise from all of the judges, nabbing him a near perfect score (boo to you, Len Goodman) and his first 10s of the season.
"I want you to know that you are saving so many people out there right now by sharing your experience this way and teaching us what it is to be deaf," remarked Carrie Ann Inaba. "I didn't know and I'm sure I'm not alone. That dance was not only educational and profound, it was so funky."
Added Bruno Tonioli: "I'm telling you, Daniel, the world is proud of you. It was like magic, we felt the sound of silence and we were all mesmerized. What you do out here is so special. It is a gift to us."
The number even brought Derek Hough to tears. "Daniel, that was so insanely powerful," he said. "Because it made me realize how much I depend on the music, and so to share that experience [voice breaks], that was impactful, man."
Eric McCandless/ABC
"I just want to show everyone where I'm from and what I've been through to get here," Durant told co-host Alfonso Ribeiro in the Sky Box. "I'm so happy. I felt free. I'm here and I got to show the world I'm successful and we can be successful no matter what and we have a great connection."
The dance was an especially emotional moment for the actor, who opened up about his childhood in his rehearsal package, discussing what it was like growing up after being adopted at only 18 months old after his mother — who struggled with drug abuse and was also deaf — left him at a friend's house and never returned. He shared a story of finally meeting his birth mother after graduating high school, revealing that a few years after they connected she died after a brief battle with cancer.
The memories made Durant teary-eyed, as he expressed his regret over not spending more time with his biological mother, sharing that he still feels regret that he didn't see her more or do something to save her. "It still messes me up to this day," he confessed, adding he has come to accept it and feels that she was relieved that they met.
The moment was equally impactful for Durant's professional dance partner, Britt Stewart, who teared up speaking about it in the Sky Box. "It was a very profound moment for me," she told Ribeiro. "Actually, in rehearsal when we first tried it, these two [Daniel and his interpreter] started laughing at me because I didn't know what to do with my body. So to be able to experience as his partner what he goes through and how he experiences life was just so profound for me and it's made our connection even stronger this week."
Dancing With the Stars airs live Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Disney+.
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