Summer Daze

A great time in May in Clare putting on our play The Big House with the ALFA students. Having culled their thoughts about characters and talents I set about trying to generate an appropriate story. The west of Ireland in 1913 in a big house in Galway was the inspiration. We all share very intensely inhabiting this landscape and we could all recall images of these houses and their parks. A comedy was called for, and with Shakespeare as the muse, off we set with a tale of adventure, switched identities, republican activity from the son of the house, Callum O'Donoghue and the chauffeur, Rafe McGuire, and a climactic trip to Argentina to hunt for dinosaurs. This later detail came from the students' research which revealed some of the earliest dinosaur remains were in Tierra del Fuego. I came with a few scenes roughly mapped out and because we worked for three hours every day, by the end of our first week we had a script and some great work on the themes of the house and home as a haven..

You know you have hit some significant archetypal theme when the students can't let their books alone, drawing their ideal houses and describing in detail the habitat that they want to live in. This theme of home and exile is fundamental. We wrote it collaboratively, had time for plenty of movement, drama games, speech and projection work, and journalling. Their brief was getting the script under their belts while I was away and by golly, they did. We had polkas, tango and a waltz in the play and dancing before each rehearsal brought a  animating joy into the room, loosening up even the most timid. Special effects included an explosion which we pulled off with four red candles bound with black tape, my lap top, speakers and flashing lights. Rafe and Callum quickly blackened their faces with charred wood back stage before appearing from the back of the audience having blown up the west wing. lady Violet, not recognising her nephew, dressed up as his sister who is meanwhile busy dressed up as her brother, seeking dinosaur bones in Argentina, swoons dramatically  But this is just a prelude to a madcap chase to Argentina taking the Silver Spirit Rolls Royce to Cork the boat to Spain, and a steamer to Argentina where Rodrigo de Mendes, played with fabulous Latin brio by our visiting German student , Emma,  awaits with black moustache felted from Tamarind's fur and tango moves to turn the world upside down.

Spring in the Air and a Spring in your Step.

Wonderful days despite cold winds circling around, sending celebratory pink and white blossom scudding to our feet as Tamarind and I  tread, tread, tread the pavements and parks of Dublin. New soft buds are appearing, setting up a haze of green everywhere. There is a giddier feel to life as the light grows.

First Stop: Ballytobin 

This weekend I drove to Kilkenny on sunlit roads with beautiful skies above, alternating driving fast and empty motorways and slower, wending country lanes. A Workshop in Ballytobin was my end point on Friday. A wonderful diverse group of folk came for a Breath and Movement workshop as we explored uncovering vitality and how our breath connects us inwardly and to the outer world. Knowing ourselves in the midst of it all and trusting ourselves more fully as we discover the power of our own breathing rhythm is a mighty focus.

Many reported next morning sleeping much better. Me too! I stayed over with Vlad and Douna in a wonderfully peaceful Camphill home where a harmonious hum was evident everywhere.

Kildare Steiner School

After a great morning of deepening with the breath, I set off  once more with music from Mali on my sound system, driving merrily towards Kildare en route back to Dublin.Once again, the delightful alternation of sparkling fields and rural byways and onto a practically empty but speedy motorway that blended with the sounds pulsing through the car as hills and clouds scudded by. Kildare School had a conference that day, exploring the theme of  Head, Heart and Hands in Steiner education.A very lively scene was unfolding here when I arrived with lots of good exchange happening in a beautiful spot, half an hour from the city centre of Dublin.

I had a great time leading the drama workshop with a lively crew. Most folk want to play, experiencing everything first, as the most natural way to learn. The  scope of The Twelve Phase Drama Lesson or how you can touch all the essential needs of learning in a 12 phase drama lesson was not what we could develop in the span of this time. We need a 3 day course for this!!

The Twelve Phase Drama Lesson: putting Drama at the Heart of the Lesson

This is the fruit of musing and writing and trying out over the years to see how much you can actually do with the elements of drama whether you are aiming to put on a play or not.We swim in the medium of metaphor that shapes our thinking and is the is the root of language. Metaphor guides the thematic approach. Drama can tie this all together  This Twelve Phase approach  can be taught to teachers of all ages, supporting practice and  memorised as a Whole in a mandala visual form. It offers an easy guideline of 12 elements that overlap and reverberate with each other, just as the two hemispheres of our brain do. When we are in tune with how we function and how we are made, naturally we are going to learn better.

You can see the Sevenfold spiral on the  website illustrating How to offer Artistry in Teaching in a Sevenfold Lesson. Understanding process and how much we can do in a span of time through a simple visual that offers both a gestalt and a sequence, feeds both sides of the brain. That way too we appease the Appollonian love of harmony and order while assuaging the rumbling and instinctual, creative murmurings of Dionysius. And when the gods are happy we come closer to Paradise! That's my goal anyway.

              Workshop: Saturday 20th April

               Saoirse Steiner School, Dublin

                            10am to 3.30pm.

LEARNING TO LEARN: developmental movement, verse and storytelling

A one-day workshop for primary teachers, parents and childcare providers to find inspiration in storytelling and creating your own stories and verses.
Understanding how gesture and song are the roots of language development.

Attuning to our breathing rhythm
    •       for calm and vitality in our teaching 
    •       for excellent classroom management
    •       to strengthen our voice and pacing in teaching and storytelling
    •      to discover inspiration in storytelling
    •      to deepen our understanding of movement and literacy.

The workshop is facilitated by Nell Smyth. Nell is a Steiner teacher, trainer and author. She brings a wealth of experience working with early years, in primary and secondary education and with adults, both in Ireland, and internationally.

€30/€20 students. Limited to 20 places. 

Booking information at  http://www.saoirsewaldorf.com/workshops/..

This workshop is taking place in Dublin on February 23rd 2013 and will be the first of a series we are offering. Contact training@saoirsewaldorf.com for registration or more information.