Creative art classes and workshops for children in The Hague – Kunstlessen en workshops voor kinderen in Den Haag
Anything can happen in a dream and in our imagination! We played with colours/emotions to express what is inside or outside of us. We explored how our feet and hands connect us to the outside world. The kids got very creative and playful, using both the space and the colourful ribbon to connect with each other, and they had fun looking for ways in which movement could physically describe a colour or an emotion. They tried then to create their own short ‘solo dream’ using body language.
We talked about the skin, our biggest organ. We tried to sense the air around us and to feel the temperature of different surfaces in the room. We used touch to connect with each other and to ourselves.
We finished off using creative story cubes. Kids made up their own little story in motion and shared it with each other. Lots of great ideas.
We talked about the importance of breathing and the organs involved in it. Kids tried consciously to breathe with their belly. After a good warm-up we tried to build moving, breathing sculptures, resulting in nice, creative moments and fun ideas.
Warm-up with the ‘ABC’ game (A=armen B=benen C=circles, etc.) and reviews of the previous classes. The kids worked on their simple improvisation and on the choreography in order to show their parents some of the work in process and the creative atmosphere in the class.
The kids chose an object that inspired them to create a simple dance solo for themselves. Not everyone felt comfortable and creative during this task. To stimulate and free up movement and creativity we worked in little groups and allowed momentary contact and new connections to happen.
We explored the concept of the head, our magic box, with the skull protecting the brain as if it’s a treasure, and explored the senses connected to our head, which help us perceive the outside world. The kids tried to feel with careful and gentle hands the head and neck of their friends and seemed to really enjoy the process. We started by looking at each other in the eyes, then moving from the eyes, to the nose, ears, back of the head, tongue and, of course, skin as well … lots of funny faces and poses. As usual, the kids finished by drawing some impressions of the class.
Hands and feet are our extremities, they connect us with the outside world, with the ground and the air around us and with other people. We give and we receive with them all the time and we use them constantly every day, when eating, walking, writing, running, drawing, jumping, etc.
There was a little anatomy work, a warm-up and a dance based on this theme. Simple interactions became more complex, experimental and playful.
There were lots of nice moments during this class. At the end, the kids were free to choose how to draw the impressions of the class.
A fun and inspiring first class in the new space.
The class was divided into groups:
1. Science: the kids were very interested to find out information about the spine and watch a funny short video;
2. Dance: they tried to start moving from the spine, creating a little chain of different movements or a chain of people that connect together just like the vertebrae in our spine;
3. A playful game based on animals, trying to feel how their ‘back’ or ‘spine’ might move;
4. Lying down on the ground to feel the contact with the floor and the spine resting on it;
5. Drawing what they have learned in the class.
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.
