First two days at Dance For All!!

Day two is officially over, and I as usual have way too much to fill you in on.

First of all, I haven't received any response about the link I posted. If you visit, this link:

https://www.me.com/gallery/#100049

are you able to view the photos and videos that I have posted so far?

So, day one was amazing. I was so stunned that I didn't even think to record a thing, so I'll just have to tell you about it.

In the morning we were driven to the school in Athlone to begin our first day of the program. After introductions with the faculty, we were led downstairs to a studio where all 50 of the kids were waiting for us. We introduced ourselves, and then they danced for us. First, a woman playing a drum led the whole group in an african warm up. It was very exciting to see the kids dance with such enthusiasm, and I immediately saw the natural rhythm and hunger for self expression that every single one of the students had. The oldest group also performed a piece that they had been working on for awhile. It was so exciting to see them dance for the first time.

I watched a ballet class and was surprised how quickly the kids could switch from their "fun" movement to a structured ballet mode. I can tell that their teachers have stressed that ballet is a very serious art form that should be respected, and they play that game very well. The thing that I have discovered is that they, especially the older ones, need encouragement to bring that sense of fun, rhythm, and movement into their ballet dancing. Yes, it is hard; but ballet can give the same feeling, or allow for even more possibilities in movement, if you let the styles play off of each other.

I am setting a piece on the middle (yellow) level, ages 9-14 or so. I'm using music that I have always wanted to use; really fun music by John Adams that has a great locomotive feel. So far I have the kids in compact formations that weave like a caterpillar. I think they are having fun but sometimes I can't quite tell how they feel about it.

Today I had my first session of the Choreography Workshop. I met with the Red, highest level, and we got to work right away. They are a very loud, rambunctious group, but when you get all of their attention, they listen very carefully and set to work applying exactly what you say. I told them that I was there simply to give a few tools, but that they would be making their own piece in our time together.

They chose their own music, deciding on a track from Slumdog Millionaire. I led them through some improv exercises such as writing their name with their nose, their elbow, and their toe, across the floor. Then they split into groups and made up their own phrases of movement (4 sets of 8 counts.) Instead of being timid and struggling to think of steps, each group got to work choreographing pretty complex snippets of movement, with partnering, unison, and lots of contrast. I was amazed at how they threw themselves into the assignment, and they took it very seriously! They came together and presented their group phrases, one by one, and it was very exciting.

Then the real fun began. I explained to them about levels, low, medium and high, and how they could alter the phrase they had come up with. I also explained about spacing, direction, dynamics and tempo, and order of the movements. Each time, the groups would get together, alter their phrase, and come back to present.

The only thing I wish I had done differently would be to continue reviewing the earlier phrases as the groups progressed, instead of presenting, move on, presenting, move on, and so forth. By the time we finished, with five minutes left, the groups were overwhelmed putting all of their phrases together. I wish I had recorded the entire hour and fifteen minutes, and I wish we had reviewed the previous phrases more. Even so, it was a huge success. I posted a few short clips from the session on the link attached to this blog.

I meet the red group again next week, after having similar first sessions with the yellow and green groups. Hopefully when we meet again, the Red groups will remember all of their phrases, and we can structure the whole piece with all of the material. We'll have to work quickly, but I can't wait to see the result!

So, I'm having an amazing time and I absolutely love these kids. Please stay tuned for the next update!