'Dancing like Chris on Strictly gives me freedom'

Visually-impaired students at Strictly Come Dancing star Chris McCausland's former college said his success in the competition was "inspirational" and had crushed stereotypes about what they can achieve.

The comedian studied at the Royal National College for the Blind in the 1990s, after being born with the hereditary eye condition retinitis pigmentosa.

Teenagers at the college in Hereford have been enjoying dance lessons, where, like Chris's partner Dianne Buswell, their teacher gives extra verbal descriptions for each movement to aid their learning.

"I really enjoy it - it’s really liberating. It just gives me a sense of freedom," said Amy Griffin, 18.

"I just feel like, for the first time, I’m actually taught properly from a visual impairment point of view."

Chris's performances on the hit show had been "absolutely amazing", Amy said.

"I really hope that he can win it. It would be really cool to see someone who’s visually impaired like us winning Strictly."

Amy, from Harrogate, has the congenital eye defects microphthalmia, anophthalmia and coloboma.

Like many of the students, she watches Strictly with the help of audio description, where a voiceover describes the actions of those on screen.

"I enjoy listening to what the judges say after each dance," she said.

Another student, Lizzy, said the voiceover would say things like "there are two dancers on the stage, they both are wearing dancing outfits that are sparkly, they make arches with their arms and skip in circles and then link arms and spin in a square dance-like fashion".

"Having audio description is really important to me as it allows me to watch the same things as other people and not miss out on a detail that could be a major part of the programme," she added.

Chris has kept strong ties with the college, where he studied maths, further maths and computer science at A-level.

In 2022, he raised £6,500 by performing a benefit comedy gig in honour of the college's 150th anniversary.

Jessie Levison, who is severely sight impaired due to a genetic condition, said she believed Chris would have a bright future, whether he lifted the glitterball or not.

“I’d never, ever heard of him before Strictly and I think after Strictly he’ll just become very, very famous," said Jessie, from Ashington, Northumberland.

Student Alyssia said his success had been "surreal".

"I think he is quite inspirational for a lot of people," she said.

"It’s just nice to see someone who is visually impaired really thriving.

"We hear a lot of really not good employment statistics about visual impairment, so it’s good to see someone actually living a good life," she said.

The 17-year-old takes part in specialised ballet classes at the college.

"I think there’s a trope that visually impaired people can’t dance, but these sessions really make us feel seen," she said.

"They show that yes, we can dance and we can dance pretty much the same as anyone else, we just need a bit more description.

"Some people think that people who have visual impairment can’t really do anything, or can’t do much with their lives besides piano tuning.

"That’s not true in this modern age," she added.

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