It may be early days, but Strictly Come Dancing’s breakout star so far this season is also the show’s first blind contestant, Chris McCausland.
The comedian, who impressed the BBC show’s judges last Saturday with his confident and energetic cha-cha-cha, has earned additional plaudits for upending stereotypes about who can dance.
His success has also inspired the next generation of visually impaired young people by proving that there need be no barriers to learning to dance.
Evie Roberts, 15, who hosts a podcast called Talking In the Dark that aims to raise awareness of blindness and disability, said it was “really great we’ve now got so many disabled role models” on TV. “There’s definitely more than there were 20 or 30 years ago. More work has to be done but we’re definitely making progress.”
She hoped McCausland’s appearance on the show would help challenge misconceptions and encourage people to talk and think about accessibility.
“When it comes to disability, I think it can sometimes be that people just aren’t really educated in it, so [it’s important that they] see people like Chris McCausland and other incredible people with disabilities out there and doing their thing.”
She previously interviewed McCausland on her podcast, and the pair bonded over exchanging the “slightly off-the-wall questions” they have encountered as visually impaired people.
McCausland revealed how he was once handed a £2 coin while out with his guide dog, while Evie said an eight-year-old girl once asked her: “How do you wake up? Does your mum love you? Are you alive?”
She said she might try dance lessons, after being inspired by the show, and hoped it would inspire more visually impaired children to give it a go. “I’m really excited for the routines he’ll do in future.”
Although Florence Waddington, 22, does not consider herself a big Strictly fan, she has followed McCausland. “Just the fact he’s gone and done it is quite inspirational,” she said. “It shows people we are human.”
Citing the Paralympian Libby Clegg’s appearance on Dancing on Ice, she said she hoped more blind contestants on TV would “help with inclusion”. “You’re just showing people that if you’re visually impaired or blind you can do that kind of thing. There are no boundaries.”
She said whenever a blind person appeared on TV she would be inundated with texts from family members expressing their renewed appreciation for the challenges she faces. “They go: ‘You’re so amazing, can’t believe you do what you do.’ It’s funny. Sometimes it’s a bit patronising but I do appreciate it.”
Grace Hill, 24, has just started learning to dance after “finally plucking up the guts and finding the right dance group for my accessibility needs”, and has been blown away by the impact it has had on her life.
“If you are watching a piece of dance when you can’t see it, you’re basically listening to music, and unless it’s described it’s quite silent, it’s quite isolating and can be quite frustrating.
“When the shoe flips and you’re actually in that dance, when you’re the dancer – even if you can’t see – it’s incredibly inclusive, incredibly accessible, and a beautiful experience that I just never thought I’d get,” she said.
“You don’t think when you can’t see moves that you will ever be able to copy them, master them or even create your own moves – but to be able to do that is surreal, it is possible.”
Although Hill admitted to be being worried that McCausland would be seen as first and foremost a blind person, and that his dancing was secondary, overall she felt his participation was positive.
“The misconception that dancing isn’t possible [for blind people] needs to be challenged. I think in Strictly he’s clearly proved that, and it’s just a case of passing that down to the next generation,” she said.
“There is stigma, there is fear. That young, little blind child who wants to be a dancer and puts on a dress and has a twirl, we can give them the whole ‘how on earth are you going to dance, you can’t see?’ – but that is, for want of a better word, rubbish. Once you find your space where you can do it, it’s doable.”
McCausland is not the only blind person to be in the news for their impressive feats. Jesse Dufton aims to become the first blind person to climb Epinephrine, a 683-metre (2,240ft) mountain at Red Rocks in Colorado, including climbing a 150-metre-high chimney section, which is a similar width to a lift shaft, with his back against one wall and feet against the other.
He said sighted climbers had been surprised to learn that he was able to secure the bolts he needed to attach his safety rope to the rock. “The answer is loads of practice,” he said, adding that he has to feel for secure spots instead of being able to see them. “You’ve got to know it’s wedged in there well. If it comes straight out you’ve got a problem, which might be death.”
Although he is no longer able to enjoy the breathtaking views that he enjoyed before his sight deteriorated, he still appreciates the eerie soundscapes up high, the puzzle-solving element of climbing, along with the physical and mental challenge, and the opportunity for deep connection with friends in remote places.
“I think that often people are very reliant on their sight, and they can’t imagine what it would be like to have that taken away. I think having your sight taken away reinforces something I was quite good at already, which is problem solving. There are often ways to do things if you can figure out how.”
Although he is not a Strictly fan, he appreciates greater representation of blind people. “There’s the saying, ‘if you can’t see it, you can’t be it’,” adding: “That’s particularly cruel when applied to blind people.”
