Biodanza has great potential for children and young people who find traditional classroom learning approaches difficult. The physical movement and emotional energy is a release from activities based solely on the intellect. It provides a refreshing and innovative alternative for auditory and visual learners too.
Biodanza is a natural fit within the expressive arts of drama, dance and music, as well as within the non-statutory PSHE curriculum. It also offers a rich and rewarding experience for pupils of Nursery and Primary school age and beyond.
Biodanza as a path to learning is new in England, but has been used in Scotland, Ireland, France, Holland, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Portugal and South America with remarkable results.
A Biodanza class for children and adolescents
Each class is an invitation to move and dance. It’s based on a particular theme, often an adventure that’s explained within a dramatic context. Children are free to use their own imaginations to co-create a shared, in-the-moment experience – a valuable opportunity to express creativity and relational skills.
Dances of vitality throughout the session help to develop the children’s fitness, strength and flexibility. Dances of expression and creativity help them to strengthen their identity, whilst relaxation exercises encourage both emotional and physical harmony and balance.
The children participate in exercises on their own, in pairs, small groups and as a whole group at the beginning and end of the session. They have opportunities to explore who they are (and to feel good about themselves), as well as to develop and strengthen their relationships with others through scenarios which encourage co-operation and solidarity. It’s all about using an exciting imaginary context in order to create an atmosphere of positivity, exploration and discovery.
It’s a joyful, kinaesthetic experience for the children, based around engaging the body, heart (i.e. emotions) and mind
Within the school curriculum
Biodanza supports a schools PSHE programme focusing on mental, emotional, social and physical well-being.
Biodanza can also find its place within the timetable of a health week, during global education, multicultural week, green issues or friendship/anti bullying or transition programmes.
Very few of the dances involve specific steps or repetitive / mechanical movements, and as such it is both genuinely creative and an expression of a child’s individual identity. Taster sessions can be provided to allow the school and pupils to evaluate the experience. Sessions run for between 20-60 mins depending on the age of the children and require a gym, hall or other sizeable clear space.
Music
The music used in Dance of Life is specific to the experience we are aiming to create and is designed to stimulate feelings of joy, solidarity and peace. We make use of pieces from all over the world including songs, chants and music from Latin America, Africa and Asia, as well as Western rock, pop and classical pieces.
To find out more about Biodanza for children and adolescents, contact Maria.