Author: Valentina Scaglia

Favourite warm-up: the kids enjoyed guiding the group and were given room to invent, move and express themselves freely, using the space, listening to different kinds of music and reacting to each other. We played with facial and bodily expressions and how emotions can be expressed … funny moments. The kids ended up creating their own little story through movements and bodily expression.

Another colourful, creative and joyful dance class. After our usual warm-up, the kids tried to create their own rhythms and percussion using chairs as well as their body percussions, following and inspiring each other. In order to get the kids to explore new movements and let their fantasies go wild, we played the ‘animal/freeze’ game. Some funny and inspiring moments 😉
Then we talked about the importance and special aspects of dancing/moving in a group as well as alone. ‘Solo’ time is, for them, more fulfilling and freedom feels great, but if we embrace and get close to each other, the group can move as a beautiful unit: what counts is the invisible connection. Finally, the kids enjoyed their rest time.

We started and finished the class lying down still on the floor and becoming conscious of our body and our breathing. Slowly we unfolded into more complex and fuller movements from the floor to standing up. We analysed how it feels to move and connect with each other. The kids used different parts of the body to find the point (off-balance) at which two bodies need each other to stand and support one another (example of the roman arch) … there was a lot of trust and letting go into it. In this exercise there were lots of creative moments and improvisation that grew into freer, more expressive movement.

A really nice start to our new Kids Atelier course. The children recognised the difference between being fully in action and allowing the body to rest and calm down afterwards. Everyone was given space to lead and follow the others and discover their own body and the space around them.
Finally, we looked at the differences between following a group and improvising freely alone, before rejoining the group. Lots of great and interesting moments.

The lids had a very creative and fun time.
They loved playing with light and shadows, their own and those of their friends, exchanging leading or mirroring roles. Lots of beautiful moments and heart-warming faces.

Kids Atelier: Playing with shadows from Johanna Bilak on Vimeo.

The kids loved exploring different ways in which they could connect with each other, and they had fun creating new situations and body-sculptures in the space. A big contrast with dancing by themselves with one body only.
We ended up trying to all connect to each other and move as one body.

With a blindfold over their eyes, the kids were helped by their friends around the studio to feel what a door or a handle, a chair or a table feels like using their senses, specially touch.
The kids then tried to reproduce through movement this feeling by making shapes or actions in the space. They created short mimes, as if they were in their own house, and the other kids loved to guess what was going on.
From reality we moved onto fantasy… The kids went wild. Each of them danced a story they made up and told it later to everyone.
The kids realised that in order to express something with movement, they need to see it in front of their eyes as if it was real and to believe strongly in their story. Great fun and creative class!

A very playful and musical lesson.
We warmed up our body, trying to create different rhythms by clapping, stepping, using our voice and getting creative in finding more ways to make ‘music’ with our own body.
Kids could create their own rhythms and follow those of their friends.
We also experienced some great, improvised funny moments.

Together with the kids we discussed the important parts of the body, and how they work together and allow it to move and function well. We played memory games with body parts and used our imagination, trying to move our bones, muscles or the liquids inside our body. Lots of fun moments and a nice group of kids.

After the last art class where kids were working with 3D letters on paper, we decided to create an alphabet with our own bodies. The kids were inspired by the ‘Dance Writer’ app (created by Peter Bilak) and got creative their own way. At the end we were watching some inspiring dance choreographies (by J. Kylian and L.Timulak).