STAYING IN STEP Written by Ashl

STAYING IN STEP

Written by Ashley Medley | Staff Writer
Wednesday, 14 May 2008

By the time he was a year old, Darren Hatch needed glasses. By seventh grade he was legally blind and needed a cane to navigate. “The doctors told my mom that by the time I was 30, my sight would be gone,” said Hatch. “I found myself moving from the middle of the room to the front during middle school. I’ve always been a bookworm, but I couldn’t read. It was frustrating.”

But Hatch, who still can see movement and shadows, hasn’t let the degenerative eye condition he’s had since birth stop him from pursuing his interests, particularly hip-hop dance through Absolute Dance at the Mellwood Arts & Entertainment Center. This summer, Hatch and other students from the dance studio will compete in several local and national competitions.

Before coming to Absolute Dance, Hatch, who attended the Kentucky School for the Blind, was captain of his cheerleading squad his junior and senior years of high school, where he also ran track and wrestled, and earned a black belt in karate. Hatch has been dancing at Absolute Dance for a year. He came to the studio to improve his technique after being turned down by several cheerleading squads. Darren Hatch, who is legally blind, has won several awards for his hip-hop dancing.

He found the studio after literally flipping through the phone book with his fiancée, Sarah Gibson. “I talked to Melissa (George, the studio’s owner) and I didn’t want to go anyplace else,” he said. Having a background in cheerleading made the transition to dance a little easier, but because most dancers learn routines through watching an instructor and watching themselves in a mirror, Hatch faced some obstacles. “My worry was more about keeping up with everybody else because I learn differently,” he said. “In cheerleading, it’s easier to tell someone the moves because it’s more robotic.” Hatch learns his routines by listening to the music’s beat and getting direction from George. “Melissa is very patient. She breaks down the routine and is really, really good at explaining things. She paints a picture in my head of what the positions are supposed to look like,” he said.

“I will mostly verbally explain every move in as much detail as possible,” George said. “His other senses have almost overcompensated for his visual impairment.” George praised Hatch’s hard work and dedication. “He’s a pleasure to work with,” she said. “He’s one of my most dedicated students. He has an incredible drive and dedication to his art.” Hatch dances mostly hip-hop, but said he would like to branch out.

“I want to get involved with tap and jazz, but hip-hop and the break-dancing within hip-hop go with the tougher beats that are easier to dance to and the style of clothes I like,” he said. Hatch will compete in a variety of team and individual competitions in the coming months. He and the other dancers have been practicing an hour a week on their routines. “It’s nice because I can focus on school and practice and get comfortable with the routine by the time we’re ready to compete. It’s a lot of fun,” Hatch said.
Absolute Dance owner Melissa George helps Darren Hatch learn routines by verbalizing each move.

When he’s not dancing, Hatch is studying for a bachelor’s degree in social work at Jefferson Community and Technical College. He plans to also earn a Ph.D. in speech therapy. He is also pursuing modeling and acting, and has worked as a spokesperson for Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic. He is helping an associate at the Kentucky School for the Blind, who is losing his sight and hearing to a medical condition, learn sign language. “A professor at JCC took my hands and formed them into the shapes,” he said.
Hatch said his mother is his inspiration and attributes his success to her. “(When I was) growing up, she didn’t always get the pat on the back she deserved,” he said.

Hatch said no matter what he did, whether it was acting in plays, winning speech competitions, karate or cheerleading, his mother was behind him 100 percent. “I guess I was a little rebellious (when I started losing my vision), but I talked to my mom and a counselor and decided to work with it,” he said. Hatch worked with a local specialist to try to slow the progression of his vision loss, but a corneal transplant didn’t work as well as the doctor had hoped. “I’m grateful for anything and I still have some degree of vision,” he said. Hatch said he wants to continue dancing and helping others with similar circumstances in the future.
“I want to reach out and help people in this situation to get up and do something, not just sit there and collect
a check. I refuse to do that,” he said. “I can see with my heart, and I want to show the world my heart. I just roll with the punches,” he said.