Brandon Kazen-Maddox
San Francisco, California
Bienvenidos. Bienvenue. Welcome.
My name is Brandon and I am a lover of kinetic motion.
I am here to create a new form of art that I hope will move our world forward in an impactful, progressive and ideally kindred way.
Professionally, I move through space as a circus acrobat, working in various companies throughout the Bay Area and teaching acrobatics to youth and adults. I have been a gymnast since the age of four and in 2010, trained Chinese Acrobatics in a Professional Training Program in San Francisco, CA.
I am a Grandchild of Deaf Adults, or GODA for short. This means I speak American Sign Language fluently because I grew up with deaf family members. I maintain a professional career as a freelance American Sign Language Interpreter for the deaf and hard-of-hearing and have been fortunate to work in the television and entertainment industry through shows involving deaf performers.
I am currently a student at Ohlone College, where I am studying American Sign Language Linguistics and Deaf Culture, two classes that have proven thus far to be both fascinating and immensly helpful in honing my ASL skills.
My Mission: To meld the intricate emotions of American Sign Language, the kinesthetic dynamics of rhythm and dance and the percussive qualities of high-energy acrobatics together in order to create a brand-new medium of art that resounds within the souls of hearing and deaf people alike.
My Motivation: My deaf family members, friends, and fellow dancers who have the ability to feel as far as the sky.
My Muse: Rhythm, music and dance that evokes the body to feel compelled to physically and emotionally express itself in a manner all its own.
The art form I have created is called ASLAD, or American Sign Language (ASL) Acrobatic Dance. I want to spread its breath, lift, flips and sweeps far and wide
across our world, in hopes that one day we humans might communicate through gestures that are so emotive, so communicative, that we won't even have to look twice.
If you are a dancer, a gymnast, deaf or hearing, or if you just like to move, I would be honored to spend time creating new works of ASLAD with you.
At the foot of this page, you can find various links to the three ASL Acrobatic Dance music videos I have created, along with a great story about me done by Mike Kepka of SFGate.
Thanks again for following your intrigue.