In East Meadow, songs in American Sign Language to take center stage
Azra Demir, a ninth-grader who plans to perform at "ASL Idol" at East Meadow High School, uses American Sign Language to rehearse "Elevate" by DJ Khalil. Credit: Barry Sloan
Students from across Long Island will use their hands and expressions to bring songs to life at an event Thursday night — but without making a sound.
The event, called "ASL Idol," is slated to take place at East Meadow High School, where students from seven schools will perform 25 songs using American Sign Language.
The program provides opportunities for sign language students to showcase the richness of the language as they interpret songs, according to organizers.
They said it also will give members of the deaf and hard of hearing communities an opportunity to enjoy a musical performance catered to them.
Maria Kaminsky, an ASL teacher in the East Meadow School District, founded the event — which was last held in 2019.
She organized the first event around 2012 while working in the West Islip School District so her students could form an ASL honor society, which required community service hours working with the deaf community.
“It was supposed to be just a little thing that our school did,” Kaminsky said. “It was such a big hit that after that we decided to do it annually.”
This year’s event will raise money for the American Society for Deaf Children, a Maryland-based nonprofit.
Students pick songs to interpret, but the interpretation is deeper than just signing; it requires movements and expressions that capture the message and mood of the lyrics, said 10th-grade student Josh Amy, 16, who doesn't have any hearing challenges.
He is planning to perform the song “Out There” from Disney movie “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”
“You can’t just stand up there and sign with a blank face,” Amy said. “You have to be able to express. Because you’re not physically saying words … you need to be able, for lack of a better word, to act, to convey the emotion of what you’re signing.”
From left, East Meadow High School ninth-graders Hadia Haider, Giya Shelly and Brionna Gins rehearse before a planned performance Thursday at their school's "ASL Idol" event. Credit: Barry Sloan
Although ASL is based on English, it has its own grammar and doesn't always have direct translations for words. For instance, in “Out There,” Amy has to substitute the words “trade” and “risk” in place of “give” and “dare” because there is no direct translation in the context of the song, he said.
Ann Joseph, 16, an East Meadow High School junior, is a member of the ASL honor society that is organizing the show. She’s not hearing challenged but has been signing since sixth grade and credits ASL with teaching her the value of language beyond the spoken word.
The popularity of ASL has been growing in recent years, said event organizer Lauren Beygelman, an ASL teacher at East Meadow High School.
Countless YouTube videos show interpretations of hit songs. Organizers of popular events, including the Super Bowl, have hired ASL interpreters to ensure the content is more accessible — which experts said has catapulted the language to higher visibility.
Even on the big screen, the language is becoming more popular, including in recent films such as “A Quiet Place” and “Creed III.” The musical "Spring Awakening” returned to Broadway in 2015 with ASL interpreters center stage.
“ASL has absolutely been more visible in media in recent years,” Beygelman said.
Tickets for Thursday's 6 p.m. event in East Meadow cost from $5 to $7.
Brinley Hineman covers the Town of Hempstead and the City of Long Beach for Newsday. She previously was a reporter in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a West Virginia native.
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