Dancing With the Stars Week 2 airs at 8 p.m. ET tonight, and viewers can't wait to see the performance by deaf model Nyle DiMarco and his professional dance partner, Peta Murgatroyd. The pair wowed the judges (even persnickety Len Goodman) and Dancing With the Stars viewers last week as they performed a Cha Cha that left everyone speechless. Check it out.
"... absolutely nothing… It's actually Peta. She's dancing to the music. I just follow her with my eyes."In fact, in his People vlog, Nyle said that during one Dancing With the Stars rehearsal, he and Peta tried turning up the music, but it didn't have the desired results.
"Rehearsals this week has been good, but there was one time we actually tried to make the music as loud as possible to make me hear the music. And I felt the vibrations, but when we started dancing, it felt off."Dimarco has also indicated that prior to Dancing With the Stars he had never really danced and wasn't sure he'd be able to. He told Us Weekly the following.
"Growing up I didn't dance at all, and I wasn't sure if I could. I didn't want to make a fool of myself as a deaf person. If I made a fool out of myself I think the world would have that negative perception that a deaf person can't dance, and it's important for me to do so well so that I can preach to the world that deaf people can do anything."
Many years before Dancing With the Stars, while still in school, it was suggested by some teachers that Nyle get hearing aids. That advice was ignored, a choice that hasn't held him back on Dancing With the Stars or anything else. The Mighty reports that one of those teachers sent a text message to DiMarco's parents after last week's DWTS performance, apologizing for her attitude toward him and his inability to hear. It read in part, as follows.
"I just want to tell you that your son Nyle was amazing last night on Dancing with the Stars!!! I am in awe of him."I owe him an apology. I suggested he try hearing aids, I guess I will always be a speech teacher… Lol
"But he showed me I am so wrong, he did his dancing without any difficulty.
"He has become a role model for every deaf person. He showed they CAN!!! Congratulations, I have a good feeling that he can win the Mirror Ball!!!"
[Photo by Joshua Blanchard/Getty Images]