Why DANCE?
Through our work with Touch Trust we very much recognise the transformative power of creative movement and music for individuals with learning difficulties. This comes about through its importance in the delivery of our primary objective, the wellbeing of our pupils, out of which comes improved mental and physical health which improves learning outcomes.
The inspiration for our Arts Council Wales funded pilot dance project last year, and its extension this year and into the future, was a national ‘Get On With Science’ (GOWS) initiative with which we were involved. This investigated the science behind music and we engaged a dance practitioner for a 1 day workshop. This involved a crossover of dance and science curricula. ( See website link to GOWS – Fire in my heart) Our pupils, particularly those with the severest of disabilities, responded so well to this that it got us thinking about how we could incorporate creative dance into the delivery of other areas of the curriculum. Last year our pilot project delivered PSE, Literacy and Numeracy through creative movement / dance and was hugely successful on many levels. ( See power-point – Dance 2013-14) The rest of Wales is now following our lead with a Welsh Government backed National Plan for Creative Learning!
The main purpose of this year’s dance project is to delivery literacy, numeracy, PSE and humanities, and to enhance the self-esteem of our pupils. We hope that through the medium of creative movement our learners will develop improved communication skills, learn about other cultures (particularly how they express their identity through movement), and that participation in a public performance that they have created themselves will bring about a rise in self-esteem.
This project will be an integral part of the delivery of the curriculum to those pupils involved, teaching pupils in and through dance using creative movement to reinforce learning across the curriculum. As the project progresses we will post pictures of our dancers in action.
https://youtu.be/ibnEaTlY7IA
