Arrival through the traffic JAM takes time and energy… after that – moving to the room of Latvian Information Center to meet and move with Latvian partners. We came together to reconect and to create a collaborative class for Rauna’s yougsters, whom we hoped to meet on August 21. Again I felt how much faster connection appears through movement rather than talking. Even being tired from the travels and traffic jams, participants could accumulate the energy so that a structure for collaborative class was created and partly done in a practice.
Next day’s highlight was visiting Viskalu street 36 in Riga – a place for all kinds of artists to have a space to work in a postsoviet building – the former Institute of Aviation and Mechanical Engineering. In this place LAUKKU members from the project the Key to Connection – Agnese Bordjukova and Inta Balode takes part at the creative process of Voice from the Bel étage – contemporary dance and music performance where through audial, kinaesthetic, and verbal dialogue questions about the female voice are raised in the literal and figurative sense. After informal coversations about the process, sensing LAUKKU style of working ( which is endless flow and endless process), the job shadowers were invited for the journey to Rauna – the main spot for the action.
Days between August 20-22, 2021 became colourful in Rauna community as youth workers and dance experts from such countries as Bulgaria, Greece, Latvia and Poland came together to connect to young people of Rauna.
We, youth workers of Rauna, wanted the young people to meet the guests and take some responsibility towards the visit. So, in the morning of August 21st Rauna’s kids were guides for the guests to experience Rauna’s landscape with the twist …. (to be honest, they were very confused when the guests overcame their challenge about hidden gifts in the cave so easily). Guests experienced also kinesthetic activity with riding horses.
Then the guests were invited to the open air event Live Nature where they had the opportunity to watch a dance performance In the shadow of Ice Age, created by Ilze Zirina in collaboration the dance group Lidoņi (Flyers) of Rauna’s Youth Center. and to facilitate collaborative movement class for those , who were ready to participate. In Rauna these were youngsters 6-13 y.o.
Daniel Wargin (Poland) – the activity with a colorful, light scarves. From casuality to poetry… just open up toward the colours – diversity..
Tsvetina Matova (Bulgaria) – meeting with the touch, meeting with the eye contact… what do you see? Dynamic, challenging for the reaction; the creative process which leads to the quality of listening and observing.
Sofia Papaspyropoulou ( Greece) – Spiritual Animals.. Who is who? Why? The strongest ones turned out tho be the youngest ones…may be because still closer to nature? They knew ( or imagined ) natural process of life for each of eight animals, that Sofia proposed. Awareness of self…
The day, full of experience in the connection with the youngsters, ended with informal, quiet socialazing at Ilze’s garden. Through conversations partners got to know each other better both in frames of the project but also in a wider range.
Next day was for the evaluation when the partners shared their impresion about the visit. The value of diversity appeared in the fact that for some partners, who come from huge institution, was complicated to understand the characteristic of our small organizations where members do not have proper space and facilities to run their projects. Latvia’s partners are mostly running the project from their homes in the free time from their actual work.
Anyway, the goal of the job shadowing in Latvia – to reconnect, to shake the community of Rauna, to get the motivation to move on, was reached.
Thank You, Ieva Grundsteine, Tsvetina Matova, Daniel Wargin, Sofia Papaspyropoulou, Justine Bulina, Agnese Bordjukova, Inta Balode, Ilze Zirina and Erasmus + for making this happen. Looking forward for the next actions in frames of the Key to Connection…
the Key to Connection is implemeneted in the framework of Erasmus+: Youth in Action programme – key action 2, Strategic Partnership for exchange experiences.
