With the fruits of our gathering, we are feeling the connections of the experiences that we have invested in.

We continue to investigate – identifying and acknowledging the season that we are in now. We ask each other – How is our body receiving this change? – through the senses.

The children are expanding the breathe of their language – words are emerging from feeling, touching, smelling, seeing, noticing, listening, hearing and tasting.

Receiving and digesting – we take our time.

I worked with small groups this week. A pair or a trio of children at a time. The others were working outside or in the hall. I notice my attention to my role as listener and observer.

Asking and encouraging the children to identify the parts of their dance that they enjoy and feel interested in. I encourage them to expand and deepen into these parts, to physicalise it more.

I was really taken with the children’s care and attention with me. They asked me ‘can you see us Lisa?’, ‘can you see us dance?”. They moved the camera up and down when needed. I noticed my heart swell and received their attention and care.

I’m really with Miss Kyle’s initiative and motivation. I feel that she is the lead driver of our partnership at the moment. I really appreciate her energy, her ‘gatherings’ and the connections she is making.

I feel clearer in myself because of her responses and encouragement.

We tried something new this week. I wanted to give the children a practical example of a dance that was developed to reflect the seasons. I tried to teach the children the movements of the dance – the Nelken line. I think it is tricky to use this methodology as part of ‘Virtually There’. I wished I was there in person, showing the gestures and sharing my enthusiasm with the children.

The ‘Nelken Line’ – Dublin Dance Festival is inviting everyone to dance one of the most famous dance sequences ever created by iconic German choreographer Pina Bausch: the “Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter” line from her 1982 piece NELKEN, as part of a global project by the Pina Bausch Foundation and ARTE, the European culture channel.

Check out more details here;

http://www.dublindancefestival.ie/highlights/performance/dance-the-nelken-line

Response time:

Spending time outside – noticing and engaging the senses in specific listening, seeing, tasting, smiling and touching tasks. I also feel a huge urge to draw with the charcoal and begin to consider a way of connecting the images of Spring, our body responses, actions and engagement with the senses and drawing.