• PAH! Deaf Dance Company (Keonah, Janine, Daniel, Tianna)
  
  PAH! Deaf Dance Company and academy is Jamaica’s pioneering Deaf dance group dedicated to creating and expanding professional dance opportunities for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community in Jamaica. Founded in 2018 and 2023 respectively by Stephanie McIntyre (Former dancer, Sign Language interpreter, Advocate and Tutor), the company aims to hone the innate talent and use the medium of dance which can serve as a 'Voice', Dance is a language of its own and it empowers Deaf individuals to express beyond words and barriers.
  
  The PAH! Deaf dance company members on WCOPA Team Jamaica 2026 span from ages 16-30 and have been dancing from a tender age breaking barriers and following their call to dance. Our cadre of dancers representing this year won smiles with sharing stage with 'Ding Dong' with shoulder flinging highlights, danced with Praise academy, LAUD Dance ministry, and won numerous awards in local competitions and shows such as Grand Gala and Most outstanding female at JCDC Deaf dance competitions last year.
  With inclusion at the forefront, the company offers classes enriched with full Jamaican Sign Language (JSL) access, ensuring clear communication and an environment where Deaf dancers can thrive. PAH! proudly partners with premier institutions such as the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, The Company Dance Theatre, and the Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf (Knockpatrick Campus) to provide high-quality, accessible dance education across Jamaica.
  The dance company academy currently has 7 members who are provided the opportunity to create and express themselves while also focusing on their confidence and mental health and holistic growth as individuals.

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PAH! Deaf Dance Company has showcased its work with stages two(2) shows of their own in addition to both local and international stages ranging from, Jamaica Dance Umbrella, CDT School and Edna Manley College productions, Deaf Empowerment Abroad Foundation summer camps, Dancin' Dynamites, Kingston Artwalk Festival,Artbeats art exhibitions, private and corporate functions to participating in international showcases and workshops with California, Ghana and the UK. Through these collaborations, inclusion, artistry, resilience, cultural expression, and talent of Jamaica’s Deaf community are shared with audiences around the world. Through performance, training, and advocacy, PAH! continues to build pathways for Deaf dancers to become leaders, role models, and ambassadors of creative excellence.

We look forward to representing the Jamaican Deaf community in dance at the upcoming WCOPA 2026 competitions.

 

With experience of over 16 years of service to the Jamaican Deaf community, the aim is to create a space for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing youth to create, express and release... leaving everything on the dance floor. In a world where they are not heard in their language or otherwise and often named as ‘The invisible disability’, this initiative is extremely important to their mental health.

 

The troupe started with 6 dancers and quickly grew to 12 in 2018. We currently have 8 dancers who are all Deaf/Hard of Hearing with an age range of 12-38 years old. Lead by Mrs. McIntyre Groves, all dancers who are committed to learn are welcome and are taught by a team of trained Hearing and Deaf dancers and supported by a committee of both Deaf and Hearing members, all of whom are volunteering.

 

PAH! Deaf Dance Company seeks to empower Deaf Jamaicans through dance:

• teaching them various dance genres and techniques

• giving them the opportunity to participate/perform in local and international dance festivals/workshops

• nurturing their creative dance potential equipping them with knowledge and skills to become dance choreographers

• Empowering and equipping the Deaf dancers in fundamental life skills to become models of success.

In Jamaica, the lack of communication access is one of the major (if not the major) issues faced by the Deaf community, this is followed very closely by the lack of job opportunities.

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At PAH! Deaf Dance Company we intend to play our part in finding solutions for these issues. Recently, we partnered with Edna Manley College, School of dance and CCCD (Knockpatrick) in teaching students at the grassroots level the basic techniques of various dance genres and transferable soft skills to aid them in navigating life and work opportunities. We also perform with the Company Dance Theatre (CDT) productions since December 2022. The aim is to expose Deaf children as early as possible so they can use dance as a possible income earner in the future and meaningfully contribute their part in nation building.

 

The PAH! Deaf Dance Company has partnered with various entities in the past, and is currently, and will continue to partner with other entities. We are currently in partnerships with Schools for the Deaf where we offer dance and exercise sessions for students, also with yoga instructors in designing and conducting Deaf friendly sessions; with hotels where our Deaf Dancers assist in conducting dance sessions for other Deaf children and other entities who from time to time ask for Deaf dancers to provide entertainment for their functions.