Joy of Dance in Primary Schools
Project dates: July - October 2020
To lift the spirits and reactivate creativity and physicality during and after the lockdown period, POW! commissioned Lizzie Prince of Flock Dance to deliver creative dance workshops to four primary schools in Thanet.
The schools involved are Ellington Infant School, Cliftonville Primary School, Newington Community School and Ramsgate Arts Primary.
photo by Ollie Harrop
photo by Ollie Harrop
photo by Ollie Harrop
The year 3 and 4 children have been using movement and their bodies to become vibrant Rainforest landscapes. 50 children have benefitted from these workshops so far, with the aim to reach a total of 180.
The pupils said:
"It was really fun because we did lots of fun animal dances." - Zaenab
"I really enjoyed it, thank you for visiting. I had an amazing time." - Mila
"I really like dancing around like a crazy animal" - Riley P.
"I loved dancing with you, you are legendary! BEST DANCE TEACHER EVER!" - Caleb
"I liked the dance lesson, it was the best lesson ever!" - Rezwan
The children who took part also said that they enjoyed the music, liked pretending to be different animals, and were very proud of their classmates when they performed their own dance routines.
Class teacher Miss Smith said: 'The dance workshop was wonderful! It took the children and the adults on an adventure to a completely new world. The adults that led the session were brilliant and truly made us believe that we had entered the rainforest! There were new dance moves to learn, sound effects and music. The children loved using their imagination to pretend to be a wide range of different rainforest creatures and were incredibly proud of themselves when they used their new skills to choreograph a dance routine. It was thoroughly enjoyed by the children and adults alike!’
The children from Newington Community School were so inspired after the session that they wanted to continue investigating rainforests, so they worked on collages, some of which you can see pictured below. Teacher Miss Rowden said, ‘We had planned to design collages made around their continent learning in Geography, but they were so passionate about the class and what they had done that we couldn't refuse!’
The collages featured here are by Lille aged 7, Amber aged 7, George aged 7 and Meliah aged 8.
Amber
Lille
Meliah
George
POW! Thanet has a diverse Community Engagement programme that connects with schools, colleges, universities, and community groups in Thanet and the wider Kent area. Our dedicated Community Engagement team provides workshops, facilitates projects, and supports groups to explore issues regarding women, girls, feminism, equality and wellbeing through creativity. POW! Thanet’s Community Engagement team have worked with 250 children and young people from April to December 2020.
Read about all our Community Engagement projects here.
If you’d like to work with POW! Thanet’s Community Engagement team, please do email engagement@powthanet.com to speak to our Engagement Director, Francesca Alphonso.
