Project Wrap Up – 2013 5/10-12 Artistic Expression Through Motion 肢體生活營課程 (青山國小 Tainan)

Bright Side was invited to Tainan’s Ching Shan Elementary School for an Artistic Expression Through Motion workshop. A five-hour twisty road drive awaited us as we headed down southwestern Taiwan.

We were excited to meet some of the sweetest kids who were eager to get to know us. The morning of the workshop some kids arrived 2 hours early and helped us set up the large room. When the workshop officially started, kids picked the volunteers they wanted to work with and together we walked out to the gardens to select their object “friend” to draw.

After 30 minutes we headed back to the classroom. Kids express their artistic prowess by transplanting their sketches onto large sheets of black paper.

Teacher Ichi focused even more narrowly on observation and the “expression through motion” this time around. She ensured both volunteers and kids drew their object “friends” from every angle. The performance comprised of exaggerated movements based on astute observation that defined the object’s size, shape, hardness level, and more. By the end of the first day, everyone was encouraged to share their drawing and perform their movements. They were treated with dark chocolate fondue on fresh fruit for their efforts!

The second day Teacher Ichi and James focused on combining individual performances into group performances. Kids learned the concept of space, observation of others, concept and utilization of space, and creative interaction. Masking tape was mapped out on the floor and children moved on the lines with their set of performances honed from the day before, careful to not bump into others. We ended on lunch break with fresh organic corn and organic red bean soup, planted and brought up from PingTung by amazing volunteer (also one of our head flyer designers) Sara Chien!

The special part of this 3 day 2 night workshop was the time we got to spend with the kids outside the classroom. Kids stayed late into the night and got to school early to hang out with the “old folks,” told us ghost stories about which bathrooms we shouldn’t be using, what part of the school we should stay away from during the night. We were told that we had actually spent our nights in a haunted room! Thanks to social networking, we are able to keep in touch with the kids online. The drive back took me about 6 hours but the weekend was worth it. However, we would love to make another trip again down south and need everyone’s continued support.

Thanks once again to Ichi and James. With them, we could not have accepted this generous invitation from Sophie Chang and ChingShan Elementary School (青山國小). Their passion and fire light up the room, the support of the school and our Benefactors. Working together with people who have the same drive and goal is so amazing!

Purpose: Push through the usual conventional means of interpretation and expression by honing our senses to communicate in different ways with the body; and doing so along with the children.

課程簡介：以日常生活的觀察與詮釋為出發點，從五官到身體的感受，與孩子們一同發現新的感受世界。

Lead Teachers: Ichi Lin and James Teng

Tasks: Assist the children with selections to draw their object and make observations from various angles, understanding the lines and various body expressions. Kitchen duties and group clean up.

Children will learn: Observation of inanimate and animate objects; interaction with others; morphing self-awareness of their own body and movements.

Benefactors: Yuting Hung, Sophie Chang

Volunteer Pool: Sara Chien, Sophie Chang, 張乃文, Kaiting Lin

First day lunch:
Hearty potato chunks with broccoli and cheddar cheese
Stir fry organic vegetables
Seasonal fresh fruit salad with coconut milk

First Day Snack: dark chocolate fondue with fruit and pretzels

Second Day Breakfast: Fresh fruit and croissants

Second Day Snack: Organic white corn and red bean soup

Location: ChingShan Elementary School 青山國小

Event Callout: https://brightside.tw/2013/04/28/2013-510-12-artistic-expression-through-motion-青山國小-tainan/