Dance seminar
THE DANCE studio at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts at the University of the West Indies, Mona, came alive on Thursday, February 2, 2006 with sounds of happy feet and clapping hands as the programme Respect: 'In Praise of Differences' started off with a two day workshop.
A four-week dance residency will take place throughout February with the aim of raising awareness and skills in contemporary Caribbean dance when applied to working with deaf and hearing-impaired children. As such, the programme targets schools for the hearing-impaired as well as mainstream schools for persons who want to learn more about working with the hearing impaired and deaf.
The programme is carried out by the Carl Campbell Dance Company 7 (CCDC7) with funding from the British Council. Along with the two-day workshop at the university, Jamaican-born choreographer Carl Campbell will engage in
one-on-one training with teachers through a series of visits to various schools.
The workshop on Thursday morning began with Campbell taking the participants through a "movement dictation". He soon explained that the aim was to learn to develop movement quickly. The 'dictation' becomes the teacher's way of giving her students "quick notes". The classes are aimed at teaching several skills.
ENHANCING COMMUNICATION
It will reinforce movement patterns; reinforce the ability to recall and to sequence patterns; develop a sense of rhythm; build self confidence; develop awareness of others; increase awareness of a sense of self, time, space and force and generally enhance communication skills. Indeed, it was noted that improving the sense of rhythm further develops speech.
"I'm not working with anyone because the person is a deaf person," explained Campbell to his class, "but because the person is a person." The group featured participants who were hearing impaired and those who were not. Participants had come from the Danny Williams School for the Deaf, Lister Mair Gilby School for the Deaf, and the Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf in Kingston. There were also participants from the Port Antonio JAD (Portland), Eltham High (St. Catherine),
St. Christopher's School (St. Ann), the Maranatha School for the Deaf (St. Elizabeth) and the May Pen Unit for the Deaf (Clarendon).
CONTEMPORARY DANCE
The CCDC7 is a professional contemporary Caribbean Dance Company based in South London, England. As such, contemporary Caribbean Dance will be the basis of the movements being taught in the project. The company has performed in both British and international venues and has also been involved in projects working with the young, the disabled and the aged.
Respect: 'In Praise of Differences' aims at using visual expression to bring deaf and hearing-impaired people to a common understanding of the human experience, with the understanding that if a picture can say more than a thousand words, the body's range of expression is unlimited. The project will culminate with a performance at the residence of the British High Commission on Friday, February 24, 2006 at 6:00 p.m.
