Pham Cao Phuong Thao and two performers

A team leader instructs the deaf and mute people to queue and dance to the song “To live as flowers”. They put their right fists on the left side of the chests and slide their left hands from the chins to their necks. Then they keep their hands parallel and straighten out their arms. Their also move their lips as they sing. Sometimes they make a circle and skip.

More people gather around the stage and cheer the performers, who can only show their excitement through movement and eye-sight.

Pham Cao Phuong Thao, an able woman, is the team leader: “We can listen to the music, but these children cannot. I think if they dance and sing using body language, they will be very happy. I’ve prepared some songs and trained them to dance.”

With great effort and patience, the deaf and mute are able to perform in public places. Sometimes, when the audience gives them continuous applause, they become overexcited and perform more enthusiastically. They say thanks by holding their right hands at their mouths then slowly open it with the palm upward while lowering their heads.

The group, led by Pham Cao Phuong Thao, consists of about 100 members of the HCMC’s Association for the Deaf and Mute. Performing on Nguyen Hue walking street has given them a chance to interact with society and create their own happiness. A spectator says: “The performances by people with disabilities have inspired me to be positive about things in life. They are disabled but they have created their happiness.”

Another spectator shares her feeling: “I don’t know much about sign language but I can feel their emotions and the message they convey. They have an extraordinary will that we should learn and support them.”