Live Discussions with Diamond has special guests Ciara Morales & Raven Sutton on to share their experiences about the dance scene, the importance and presence of the Deaf community in our scene, the necessity for accessibility for events, the need for people to understand those in need of accessibility, ridding the ignorance and microaggressions, and so much more.
Ciara has been a dancer throughout her life and has always aspired to connect with others through her love for dance. As far as she can remember, dance and music have always had a crucial part in bringing her and her family together, and it is still such a profound source of joy, love, and escape. Throughout childhood and into her teenage years, she has performed regularly in school hosted events, attended dance classes, and while in high school she and a friend founded a dance team that focused on creating a safe and welcoming space for fellow Students of Color. She began formal dance training in 2012 when she moved to Chicago to attend Columbia College Chicago’s American Sign Language Interpreting Program. While living in Chicago she took classes and trained in Ballet, Modern, African, House, Hip-hop, and Bachata. She has been inspired by instructors such as Dakota Romero and Edwin Ferreras of Areíto Arts, Carlos Cinta, Angelica and Jahaira of In Lak’ech Dance, Kat Arias of Ferocity Dance Company, Jorge Soto, Sarah Zuccaro, Zeke Ruvalcaba of PhyZeke, Bianca Derival and Rudy Lopez ”El Tiguere del Mambo” of Island Touch, Kelsa Robinson, Dardi McGinley, and many more. Ciara continues to share her passion for dance, whether it is in a social setting or in a studio. She loves teaching and of course, being a student, Ciara firmly believes that we are always a student and there is always room for growth as a dancer. She believes that dance is not only a physical experience but also an emotional and a spiritual one and she wants to continue to share the ways dance has had an impact on her life in the most positive and therapeutic ways. When she is not dancing, she is working as a freelance American Sign Language Interpreter. Although Ciara has grown up as a dancer, both interpreting and dancing share the same space in her heart.
Raven started dancing as young as 1 year old, she was a Deaf little girl who enjoyed dancing to the vibration of music. For Raven dancing has always been her creative way of self-expression. By the age of 11, Raven was a freestyle dancer of many genres such as Hip hop, Dancehall, Salsa, and Bachata. She attended Gallaudet University, the only Deaf Liberal Arts University in the world. There she joined two dance teams, the Bison With Attitude and Gallaudet Dance Company. Bison with Attitude is a heavily Hip Hop influenced team, while Gallaudet Dance Company is a mixture of hip hop, modern jazz, ballet, and ballroom. Both teams were comprised of predominantly Deaf dancers. In the years 2017 and 2018, Raven traveled to Port au Prince, Haiti where she choreographed hip hop dance routines and taught these routines to the Deaf community. The routines were performed to the public as a way to bridge the gap between the Hearing and Deaf community. received her Bachelors's and Master's degrees in Social Work. Her goal is to get her Clinical Social Work License so that she can develop her own practice as a Dance Therapist for the at-risk youth community. She believes that self-expression plays a valuable part in discovering who you are. Currently Raven is a Survivor Resource Specialist for Deaf Domestic and Sexual Violence Survivors. Raven became heavily involved in the DMV Latin Dance community in 2017. Since then Raven has joined Ferocity Dance Company Ladies Team directed by Kat Arias. Raven also continues to do work inside the dance community to promote inclusivity and access for Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and dancers with disabilities.
