The Dance Lab is unique, creative, and undeniably different from many other dance studios. And, sometimes it is just plain magical.
After working with a wonderful group of kids all summer in our Creative Arts Workshops, which is part of our Connecting the Arts with Literacy Curriculum, something so magical happened the other day. We have spent the summer exploring dance, yoga, art, creative writing, poetry, journaling and more! Our focus this day was Yoga & Journaling. I was noticing how our focus and explorations were becoming more developed and mindful than at the beginning of the summer. Things were seeming to come together in a magical way. The knowledge, and confidence, we were gaining was starting to show in our self-expressions and our creative energies. And, then this happened ...
We had extra time at the end of our workshop and the kids asked if we could share creative free dances, just for fun, after all of our focus and concentration on our goals for the day. Of course, I said yes. We all took a minute to think about what we wanted to share in our dances. The parameters were wide open. They could make a dance about anything that was connecting with them, inspiring them, in that moment. We shared our dances one at a time. Beautifully thought-out dances, by the way. When our dances were done, I asked: "Is there something you would like to tell us about your dance?" So, each friend shared a wonderfully developed story about their dance. Each with a beginning, middle, and end. Each with lots of descriptive words, allowing us more details about their dance. They had each created a story for their dance with a character, setting, plot, and ending. These are all things we have been encouraging all summer with our creative writing and story making. But, now, they rolled right into it with oral stories. The work of connecting the arts with literacy was becoming more second nature to these students. This was a Magical moment for me and filled my heart with Joy. And, this also made me think, Storytelling is also Literacy!
Do you ever have magical moments in your work or life that make you stop and take a breath ~ and Smile? I would love to hear about one of those magical moments. Leave me a comment and share your thoughts. Wishing you many magical moments in life and work. These moments make me feel that the work I do is positive, powerful, and oh so rewarding. It's slow and sneaky work, but beautifully Magical.
Just my thoughts.
Candace
This makes me so happy to read...love all the work you do!