What a fantastic opportunity K-6 and interested high school students had on the last Wednesday of Term 1. We were very fortunate to have professional dancers, singers and actors running workshops with our students.
Each group spent a class period in each of the groups and really enjoyed this experience. The acting class involved students developing their own characters. From how they would move, to how they would speak and even their names, students developed their whole character. Students took part in mirror work with a partner, where they imitated everything that their partner did, just as though they were a reflection in the mirror. They also spent some time working in large groups to depict scenes and objects.
The singing session, which took place in the library, was filled with joyful noises. There were vocal warm ups and students produced different sounds using their tongues and diaphragms. Finally they spent time working on a song. Breaking it down into manageable parts, students discussed and recalled words related to songs like verse, bridge and chorus. It was amazing to see that in a short period of time, under the instruction of the professionals, each group mastered an entire song and its actions.
The last of the rotations was dance. This of course began with some great warm ups and stretches to get the students ready for a fantastic session. It was really wonderful to see large groups of children so engaged in the dance activities which included balancing challenges. Finally the professionals taught some choreography by using chants that the children would match with the actions. The result was a great demonstration of coordinated movements.
