Kai Kunder says inclusive festival overcame rain to end in sunshine

ERR reported that the 16th song and dance festival for people with special needs, titled “We Must Hold on to One Another”, ran smoothly despite the weather at the Viljandi song festival grounds on Saturday, according to Kai Kunder, who worked as an audio-description consultant.

Kunder, who is visually impaired, said the event began with rain and wind before the sun came out. She attended the festival in person for the first time.

“When the festival opened with the Estonian national anthem, hearing how sincerely and loudly people sang along gave me goosebumps,” Kunder said on Vikerraadio’s morning programme. “People were happy and supported one another, as well as the singers and dancers. The audience was grateful and everything ran smoothly.”

Sign-language interpretation, speech-to-text interpretation and audio description were available at the festival. Kunder worked alongside sighted audio describer Krista Fatkin, describing the dances live for visually impaired visitors.

Audio description makes visual information accessible to people who cannot see it. Visitors were given headphones and a receiver, while the interpreters worked from a booth at the festival.

The work requires preparation in advance. The describers are usually sent a rehearsal video in which a smaller group performs the dance. They then prepare descriptions of the dancers’ footwork, turns, spins, arm movements and lifts.

“We do not describe every movement and step, because a blind person’s ability to take in information is also limited,” Kunder said. “But we convey the main steps and, importantly, the emotion, so the description is not too technical. We also try to highlight details such as how the skirts spin and fly or who is wearing wreaths.”

Several dozen people have trained as audio describers in Estonia, but Kunder said only around 20 work actively in the field. Audio description is provided for theatre performances, films, museums, dance festivals, song festivals, photography exhibitions and paintings.

Describers have different strengths, she said. Some prefer live events, while others feel more confident describing museum exhibits or works of art.

Kunder said she must make her descriptions understandable to people who have been blind from birth as well as those who lost their sight later and may want more information about colours.

In September, she will work as an audio-description consultant on Rakvere Theatre’s production “Autumn Sonata” at the Drama Festival.

“I really like this work because it is varied,” Kunder said. “Since I used to be able to see, it helps me keep the visual image in my mind. I love this work.”