Mottingham dancer showcases his talents in True Colors music video celebrating inclusivity

Mottingham-based dancer who is deaf has showcased his talents in a new music video celebrating diversity and inclusivity.

Chris Fonseca joined musicians, singers and dancers from around the globe to create the video, set to a cover of the Des’ree hit You Gotta Be.

The video features the artists who were due to perform at the True Colors music festival in 2020, which was cancelled due to Covid.

The 31-year-old dancer said: “I want to say thank you True Colors Festival for having me and it’s been an honour to be part of the journey of celebrating diversity, equality and inclusivity.

“These are the same beliefs I hold at the core of my work.”

True Colors is a charity producing events focused on visibility and accessibility for those who have overcome adversity and challenges, and to inspire those in similar circumstances.

Mr Fonseca, who is also a choreographer, dance teacher and actor, caught meningitis as a toddler and became profoundly deaf in both ears by the age of two.

He now wears a cochlear implant in one ear and uses British sign language to help him communicate.

He was inspired to take up dancing by the 1984 break-dancing film Breakin, and spent hours in his room teaching himself moves.

Mr Fonseca uses vibrations to feel music.

He said : “It’s all about feeling. As soon as the music plays, the sound and the beats spread rhythm across the room and it slowly travels toward my body, to feel the beat and to be part of the music.

“I receive the rhythm and it goes up to my brain to study the structure of beats and understand how the music plays before I make dance movements.”

In his second year at Wolverhampton University, Mr Fonseca joined an all deaf dance group called Def Motion and in 2014 he joined studio 68 dance training academy as a teacher.

But the dancer’s journey has not always been easy. He said: “At the start of my career, I experienced a lot of barriers due to a lack of access to professional training, opportunities and education.

“This was often a barrier due to the deaf dance community being very small. It really impacted my ability to keep myself motivated until I realised there was a way to overcome them.”

Over the years Mr Fonseca found his own formula for success, which he calls the three ps – passion, persistence and patience. He said: “Having passion is energy, created by always being obsessed and used as fuel to energise self-motivation that leads you to your purpose.

“To be persistent is what makes the impossible become possible, whatever the circumstance or situation, and as always, it is determination that exceeds doubt.

“Being patient is key, by trusting your process and knowing that getting the result you have always wanted does take time.”

The True Colors video can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRvxvh37yCQ