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| Antoine Hunter - photo credit RJ Muna |
Most people assume that I picked dance at an early age to have a
dance career but that's not really true. Let me tell you how it all started.
I was born in Oakland, California. I have a hearing family and I
was born Deaf. Being an African American Deaf male child was hard. Being Deaf
was considered “retarded”. That’s what people called me at a young age. Not my family, but the public did. My family taught me to love who I am and that is
what I did. I never let that go. It wasn’t easy.
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| Before and After - photo credit Matt Haber |
I was considered an outcast by both hearing people and Deaf
people. Most of the time the Deaf didn't let me in because I wanted to do
things hearing people were doing and most Deaf didn’t engage in those same activities
because there was no access. Hearing people didn't let me be a part of their
community because I couldn't hear them. So the reality was, I didn't have any
friends in my life who were truly my friend. I was really lonely. I felt I had
no place in the world. I was so sad and even thought about taking my own life.
I didn’t, however, because there was something in me saying “If you want
something you need to figure out how to get it”.
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| In the Silence - photo credit Matt Haber |
There were a few times when I went to a summer Deaf camp where I
put myself out there to help people and they would become my friend. I learned
how to make friends. It would be a nice lovely feeling of having a friend but it
only lasted the 2 weeks during the camp. When camp was over, there was no way to stay in
touch before cell phones were invented and most of the campers lived far away. At the
time, I lived in Oakland and those new friends lived in Santa Cruz or Half Moon
Bay. That’s really far away from Oakland. So I was lonely, again.
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| Antoine in Action - photo credit Matt Haber |
I was always seeking a way to have a friend. I joined the
basketball team and my teammates at my Jr. High School didn't like me at first.
I really knew nothing about basketball yet I wanted to play. I really wanted to
do what hearing people do. Watching all the guys working together as a team to
win was something I wanted to have in my life. I wanted a team of friends. I
would start practice on my own at 6 am at my school basketball court. In time,
I got very good at basketball and I became one of the important players on the
team. My teammates became my friends, solely at school, but it felt good. However,
once Jr. High School was over, I was alone once again.
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| Mr. Hunter & Zula - photo credit Matt Haber |
It was time to move on to high school and I had a chance to visit Skyline High School. Yes, that is the same high school Tom
Hanks and Grey Payton went to. Many famous people went to that school. It was a
huge school and I was worried. I instinctively knew the bigger the school was,
the harder it was going to be to make friends. During my visit to Skyline High
School, we had a chance to stop by the dance studio. There I saw a black woman saying
5,6,7,8!
The room was sweaty, the students were turning and jumping, and
one thing stood out clearly to me ... there were only two guys in dance class! I
was thrilled. I thought to myself “well if there’s only one guy or a few guys,
these girls would want me to be their friend and be in their dances, or maybe
one of them would be my future wife ... wait slow down ... this would be perfect
place to find a date.” I couldn't wait to start my first day of school.
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| Antoine - photo credit Matt Haber |
I won't tell you what year it was but I will tell you it wasn’t
the year 2000 yet. Ok, ok, it was 1996! My first dance class I got my sweat
gym clothes on and I sat on the floor pushing my legs apart stretching. Trying
to do what all these girls were doing. I couldn't help but to daydream which
one would be my wife, I mean my best friend. My dance teacher Dawn James
walked in, took roll call, introduced herself and began the warm-up. The warm-up was from hell. Mind you, I was already in shape ... don't forget not only am I
a basketball player but I’m also a track runner, a bodybuilder and a swimmer.
Dance class was kicking my butt. These girls were able to do way
more sit-ups of all kinds. I couldn't keep up. My abs were on fire, just burning. My
legs were shaking. They did more pushups than me, and it wasn't even 15 minutes
yet. When we got up off the floor, everyone was able to touch the floor and I
couldn't get past my knees. Then the dance started. “Jazz square” Dawn James
yelled. My mind was spinning in a circle. “Kick ball change” she yelled. I
thought, “oh, imagine I am kicking the ball, oh I can do that”. I was catching
on. “Hold up, dang! Did you see how high she just kicked her leg? Almost took
my head off,” I thought to myself, if I survive but everyone else was looking
at me as if i was the weakest link. I guess I was.
Every day I practiced at home everything I learned from dance
class at school. I was focused for many months. At one point I could touch the
floor while standing with my leg straight. In the past, I couldn't get past my
knees. In time, I was getting good, good enough that my classmates started to
notice me. Even a few of them started saying hi. Still no real friends yet. One
day my teacher said we had to work in group, or duet, or work solo to create a dance.
I wanted to work in a group but no one wanted to be in my dance. So I created a
solo. It wasn’t a one-day creation. It took weeks to figure out what I wanted
to do. I decided to dance to Whitney Houston’s “I
Will Always Love You.”
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| Antoine with the Musicians - photo credit Matt Haber |
When the music
started, I began rocking my head side to side as if a boat were rocking me. I
grabbed my shoulders as if I were cold and alone in the dark. Then, I let the
music take me over, I mean really take over me ... I was moving all over the
room. I jumped, I rolled, I slid, I reached, fell, I stood up, I was belonging
and I was sweaty. Wait, there is more. During the instrumental break of
the song, I began to dance as if lightning, fire, wind, water, and finally the
earth were attacking me.
I was all needy, feeling
and scared but there was freedom and comfort, like angels were dancing with me.
When I finished dancing, everyone had so many different expressions on their
faces — even before they clapped. Many people told me that they could understand
me and feel me from my dance.
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| Crowned King at SF 2017 Carnaval! - photo credit Marco Sanchez |
From that day forward,
I went on to learn other “languages of dance”— like African, ballet, and so much
more. Soon I began to teach these languages to others. Dance is so powerful.
It’s given me the power to touch lives.
This story was about
my first year in school. At the end of the school year, I had really nice
friends. Today I have friends
all over the world and really good friends. I always say you only need one
friend but sometime dance is so powerful it brings more good people into your
life. Dance has the power to bring good people in your life.
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| Antoine Wins the Crown at Carnaval! - photo credit Matt Haber |
This is Week 15 of 52 Artists in 52 Weeks.
Thank you for reading and sharing Antoine’s story today. To connect with
Antoine, please visit the links below.
Editor’s note: You can see Antoine’s
posts on his Facebook page and you can choose to “follow” him. You just can’t
friend him because he is so popular he’s maxed out at Facebook’s 5,000 friend
limit (ironic, and fitting given Antoine's early quest to have even one friend).
The above photos show Antoine at San Francisco’s 39th
Annual Carnaval Competition this past weekend where he was crowned King –
Congratulations Antoine!
Editor's note: A capital "D" for Deaf epresents and honors Deaf Culture. Details are at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Editor's note: A capital "D" for Deaf epresents and honors Deaf Culture. Details are at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
When was Hunter born??
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