Training Day 1

{9 schools 20 teachers 9 Headteachers 10 artists and 2 NPOs }

This is it!

We all met at Dance East a melting pot of anticipation, excitement, fear and some trepidation brewed as we gathered in the main performance studio.

This was a day of learning from and with each other.

Wendy steered the day, briefing us all on the Paul Hamlyn Foundation- TDF Project. My rather feeble attempt to introduce Paul Hamlyn could have been so much better. My heart knew what I wanted to say, but somehow my brain and mouth didn’t connect well. Hey ho! Clearly this is an area of development for me!

Tony led us in some drama activities which pushed many out of their comfort zone. These preliminary warm ups led us into Lauren’s clearly communicated and superbly delivered vocabulary training.

Meanwhile, I scribbled away in the wings creating a visual notebook of key aspects of what we were learning.

From a Chinese dragon conga, to improvised scenarios of using drama or dance to develop vocabulary, teachers worked with their designated artists throughout the day.

Of course there was the blob tree – a really useful way for us to personally reflect and identify where we see ourselves as we start this journey together. We will all use this throughout the project as a means to monitor our personal development.