'DWTS' Pro Britt Stewart on the Challenges of Performing with a Deaf Partner (Exclusive)

Britt Stewart is only in her third season as a pro on Dancing with the Stars, and truth be told, it’s actually more like her second season because last year when she was paired with Martin Kove, they were voted out in week 2, due to no fault of her own. It was obvious that Martin was having second thoughts about signing up for the dance competition and didn’t really give it his all.

But now, Britt has been awarded with a possible winner in the person of Daniel Durant, who starred in the Oscar-winning filming CODA. Like the majority of the CODA cast, Daniel is deaf in real-life, which means that Britt has had to come up with a new way of teaching dance.

“My goal in general for any season, no matter who my partner is, is to bring out who they are and their best qualities as much as I can, so that their personality is just shining on the floor at all times,” Britt told Parade in this exclusive interview. “I am trying my best to do that with Daniel this season. I know he’s really passionate about also shining light on deaf culture and community. I’m trying to also help him with that, as well.”

Daniel isn’t the first deaf competitor on DWTS. Marlee Matlin, who played Daniel’s mother in CODA, was the first, competing in Season 6 with pro partner Fabian Sanchez and finishing in seventh place. The second was Nyle DiMarco, who competed in Season 22 with Peta Murgatroyd as his pro partner and walked away with the Mirrorball Trophy.

Now, Daniel and Britt are hoping to follow in their footsteps and Britt is adapting her teaching methods to Daniel’s needs since he can’t hear the music, but only feel the beat.

“I have to be very specific, and I have to be very detailed,” she explained. “Usually, I would teach someone the choreography and then I would play the music and then show them the musicality, or count, and then have the count relay to the music. But, obviously, for Daniel, it’s so much different. I have to explain musicality in almost beats and cues. This is slower, this is quicker, and you hold this for two beats. I show him and let him feel how long those beats are in the music. And then I also cue him with my choreography. I have to be very specific about how I’m choreographing and how I’m teaching.”

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It's also a learning experience for Bitt. She’s finding that it’s expanding the way she thinks of choreography as well as the way she thinks about dance education, which she hopes will make her better at both.

There is no instruction manual on how to teach dance to someone who is deaf, but Britt did speak to Peta prior to the start of the season to see if she had any advice from her own personal experience.

“A lot of what I’m doing, like the cues in the dance, she did, as well,” Britt said. “Daniel’s also helping me with the cues. It’s amazing because we do have a really great connection. We really have an open and honest conversation about what’s working, what’s not working. I am coming up with it all on my own and in the process, it's been really fun to do that.”

Also during our chat, Britt talked about what it’s like to be the first Black female pro on the series, her hopes of winning the Mirrorball Trophy, learning ASL, and her nonprofit Share the Movement organization.

This is your third season as a pro. Last season you were voted off early, but do you feel like an old timer now?

You know what’s so funny? Not really. My third season does feel different. I do feel way more confident stepping on the ballroom floor and in my choreography and I pride myself in being authentic, but it really feels like here I am, it’s my third season and I’m ready to go for it. It was funny because one of my first interviews on the show they said, “Okay, this is your third season as a pro and you’re still kind of new at this.” I was like “Wait, I guess I am, it doesn’t feel like it but I guess I still am kind of new.”

DWTS must have faith in you to assign Daniel as your partner.

When I first found out that I had Daniel as my partner, I had a conversation with one of the Dancing with the Stars executive producers, Deena Katz. She was really excited about our partnership and that warms my heart because I really feel like she knows who I am and knows that I would love to have such a fulfilling season, which this is already. Even though it’s only week three it’s already so fulfilling. She asked me if I had ever taught a deaf person before. I said no, but that I am up for it and that I am going to do all that I can to learn how to best teach him.

You and Daniel have been consistently towards the top of the leaderboard. Do you think you have a shot at winning, or at least making the finale?

This is what I will say. I would love to be in the finale, and I would love to take home the Mirrorball. I know that Daniel would, as well. I’m going to say, yeah, I think we have a shot. I think that we bring something that’s completely different to the ballroom this season than any other contestant. He is an amazing performer and he’s not a dancer, he has no formal dance training.

The way that he is progressing and evolving already in week three is so impressive. I’m so proud of him. He shocks me every single week. But I also think what sets us apart is that we have something really powerful to talk about. We both are so passionate about bringing light to our individual communities and the power of that and what we can do together is really amazing. I think and I hope that people are going to rally behind us because of that unique edge that we have.

You are doing some signing now. How much ASL have you learned? Are you interested in picking it up as a second language?

I barely even knew the ASL alphabet when I first met Daniel. As soon as I met him, I knew instantly that I wanted to learn his language. First of all, I’ve always wanted to learn another language. I am also the type of person that always wants to learn something new, just in general in life. Having Daniel in my life right now at this time is such a blessing because I am so excited about learning ASL. He is so patient with me. I’m kind of impressing myself, to be honest, over how fast I’m picking it up. I didn’t think that I would pick it up this quickly.

I think it’s because I’m communicating with Daniel every single day. We don’t always just communicate about dance; we talk about life and a couple weeks ago we went and got IVs and cryotherapy for recovery. I’m also having the opportunity to continue to develop my ASL skills outside and in a social setting. I think how you best learn any language is to just dive in. So, yes, I think ASL is a beautiful language, and I am going to continue it after this season because I’ve always wanted to be bilingual and ASL came into my life, so I think it’s going to be my second language.

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On week two Len Goodman gave somebody an extra point because he said he recognized the steps of their dance and he's a stickler for a tango being a tango and a cha-cha being a cha-cha. In your mind how big of a role does choreography play? Even though the judges say that they’re rating the celebrities, wouldn’t you agree that how you make them look is a big part of it?

Oh, absolutely. I think they are specifically judging the celebrities based off of what they do, but it is our responsibility as the pros to make sure that we’re fostering that for them. That we’re giving them the right choreography, that we’re giving them the right technique and coaching throughout the week to help prepare them with that. I believe that every single pro on this season does a very good job of that.

I do think choreography does count for something. I have a jazz, ballet, tap, hip-hop, and commercial dance background. So, for me, I work extra hard to make sure that I’m bringing in and shedding light on whatever style that we have that week. But then, also, to make it uniquely my choreography, I make sure to add that little extra that’s my style, my vibe, for the choreography that week. I’m very conscious of making sure that I’m adding enough of the technique of that style for that week.

I would think the temptation would be with the less experienced dancer to use choreography to disguise their flaws.

You know what? I think it goes both ways. I think if you have a really amazing dancer, it could be very easy to go the other way, too, because they can do everything. So, you want to add in as much as you can. I think it goes both ways. But, for sure, with a less experienced dancer I think the tendency sometimes is to be, “Okay, how can I make them look the best that they can no matter what?”

There have been some changes this season. You were there as part of the troupe, so you’re probably familiar with the cohost and the skybox. But since you’ve been a pro, they haven’t been there and now they’re back this season. How much do you enjoy having those things brought back so it’s more like the show when it originally premiered?

You’re absolutely right, this is my first experience as a pro with the skybox and having the full audience back in the ballroom. It honestly feels amazing. I remember being on troupe and feeling that energy and seeing my amazing coworkers do what they do and just dreaming about having that opportunity one day.

I’m so grateful that I was promoted to be a pro in 2020. Honestly, I’m grateful that I was when I was, because I do think it was nice, specifically for my first season with Johnny Weir, for us to be a little bit secluded and in our bubble. I think it really helped us to foster the amazing relationship that we had and still have.

But now being back in the ballroom with things being almost back to normal feels amazing. That adrenaline of the audience and the energy is just incredible. I think it also helps with the camaraderie of all the contestants. It feels really positive in the ballroom right now and I love it.

You mentioned that you and Daniel want to represent. As the person who holds the title of being the first Black female pro on this show, I’m assuming that’s part of what you were indicating when you said that. What does that mean to you?

Well, yes, that is what I meant. Being the first Black female professional dancer on Dancing with the Stars is a huge honor. Even though it’s been three seasons now, I still pinch myself because I hope that other Black females will come in and have that pro spot. But it is like, “Okay, I made history.” I have to remind myself of that, that that’s pretty awesome. Having that representation of diversity, equality and inclusion is really important to me.

I have a nonprofit organization that will help foster that in the dance community. It’s called Share the Movement. The opportunity that I have to not only be that representation for Black females on the floor, but then also be partnered with this amazing human that happens to be deaf but also is so passionate about uplifting his community is amazing. It’s such an honor. I know that we don’t even have to do much. I think us just being there together in the ballroom is representative enough, but I know that we want to do so much more, too.

Is Share the Movement what you do in your offseason?

It’s one of the things that I do in my offseason. I’m president of it. Our mission is to increase diversity in the professional dance industry by supporting young, BIPOC dancers financially, educationally and inspirationally. We offer scholarships currently right now for summer dance programs. But we’re shifting to do full, year-round scholarships. We’re quite new. We’ve only been launched for a year and a half now, but we have our 501(c)(3) status and we are a fully functioning charity. It is so fulfilling to see the impact that we’ve already been able to have on young, minority dancers. It’s already so fulfilling, and I know that we’re just going to keep going and expanding and continuing to do the work.

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That reminds me of what Debbie Allen is doing with her school and her annual production of The Nutcracker. Some of her successes has changed her students’ lives. Are you aware of what she’s doing?

I am. It’s so funny that you say that. If I was to look at and have a full picture of what I would love my career to be like, it’s her. She’s been able to be a dancer turned choreographer, director, actor, producer, and then on top of that she’s a philanthropist. I am very aware of Debbie Allen and the work that she does because it is so inspiring to me. I would definitely love to follow in her footsteps.

Obviously, you’re in a teaching role but what do you learn from your partners? I’m thinking it’s a two-way street.

It’s definitely a two-way street. This season is absolutely amazing because I am literally learning Daniel’s language and he’s learning my language of expression at the same time. We’re really patient with each other, so it’s this beautiful give and take and constant learning from each other.

Every season I learn something new from a partner, or that’s my goal. This season I’m really finding that Daniel is so confident and calm. If he’s nervous, which I can always tell when he’s nervous, but on the outside some people might not realize he’s as nervous as he is. He has this presence that’s just so grounded that I am being very inspired by it. So far, I know it’s only week three, but that’s what I’m learning from him up until this point. I’m sure there’ll be other things throughout this season as hopefully our journey continues on to the end.

Dancing with the Stars streams Monday nights at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Disney+.

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