Created by : Yoana Yordanova – Sojka, Radoslav Yordanov, Elena Kostadinova, Andrzej Sojka in Pernik, Bulgaria, 22.02.2020.no 2
If you tell life
what it has to be,
you limit it.
If you let it show you
what it wants to be,
it will open doors
you never knew existed.
/Rutter-Rhymer/
Theme: Observing, listening and connection
Target group: 14 children ( age 8 -12 years old)
Duration: 2 hours
Space: hall of CPLR – ODK Pernik
Approach: non- formal kinesthetic learning trough movement and dance.
About the theme:
This theme (Observing, listening, connection – Here and Now or just Be present ) provokes many feelings and thoughts. As you invite your topic, situation, or circumstance to talk to you, the messages or answers may not always come right away or in the forms that you expect. Often message comes as a metaphor or a symbol, and it may show up in unrelated conversations or events hours or even days later. Someone may make a passing comment that appears to come out of nowhere, yet it has a clear meaning for you. Or you may walk past a newsstand and a headline catches your attention. Or the lyrics of a song that you haven’t thought about for a long time suddenly keep playing over and over again in your head. But using movement as a method to realize all or part of this, especialy with children working
even deeper and on difrerent level.
These are some toughts which our participants shere with us:
“Listening opens up my ‘not knowing’ much more and asks me to trust what is being revealed through the listening. It’s powerful and exciting and scary at the same time. ”
“It can change from moment to moment. One moment I’m ‘talking to,’ and the next moment I’m ‘listening to.’ It’s a full circle. This is incredible.”
“I have to combine movement with listening. Now I see that they can be partners. I’m learning that we can receive and act at the same time. This is the new way to lead when you are in
possition of leader.”
About the exercises
- Welcome yourslef to the space.
– Everyone finding his own comfortamble position and space in the moment. Start to waking up the body with movement, sound.
– In a circle every participant express through movement his/ her mood in the moment adding his/ her name.
- Brake the Ice and distance.
Intention: physical contact, massage of the bodies, fun
– From big circle everyone is trying to come to the center and be in the center staying there as much as is possible.
– Creating one group which laughing and moving together changing level, direction, position.
Note. Automatically a leader of the group appears – her task is to lead the group, but at the same time to listen and observe, take decision and direction.
- Observing
– Making couples where the task is to observe your partner – his/ her looks, behavior, movement;
– Second task is to observe yourself after reaction from your partner (touching, speaking, provoking you);
– Third is combination from both – observing yourself and your partner while moving, speaking, singing, laughing in the space;
– Fourth is to stay alone with eyes close and observe only yourself ( breath, heart beat, organs, muscles, bones, skin). Then open the eyes and observe everything around you. Try to remember the exact place of each person, subject and furniture, feeling the space between and what influence have this on you.
Sharing coments: ”comfortable; unpleasant; tight; claustrophobic; stuck; flying in the space, lightness”
- Moving doll
Intention: Listening
– Making groups with 6 people in each group. One is the doll – he/ she stands in front of the group.
The rest of the group is divided with task – one to lead the head of the doll, one leading right hand, one left hand, one leading right leg and one left leg. They change roles time after time.
-Every participant find his/ her place in the space, with close eyes start to listen all the surrounding sounds and noises and using his body drawing the picture of the sound.
- Connection.
– There are some words, colours, questions or shapes attached on the wall. Each participant choose one item that they associate with themselves. In a circle with words or movement everybody tries to explain why they made this choice and what is connection with them;
– In circle holding hands sending and receiving the energy from today closing the meeting.
- Reflection
Question: How do you feel? Did this meeting was strange for you and would you like to experience exercises like that again?
Answer: YES, WE WANT. It was different. It was new. It was fun.
Note. We listen, sense, and feel first—we let life talk to us. And then, we respond, perhaps through an action, or by asking a question, or making a request. And then we listen again. We are at our best in life, leadership, and service when we let ourselves be guided by our open dialogue with what is happening.
Few photos:
The Key to Connection is implemeneted in the framework of Erasmus+: Youth in Action programme – key action 2, Strategic Partnership for exchange experiences.
