Music and movement: Alan Fitzgerald & Tids Pickard at James Rennie School, Carlisle

School/Setting

James Rennie School, Carlisle

Artists

Alan Fitzgerald (Fitz), musican & Tids Pickard, dance artist

Aims

The project aimed to build on work Fitz had begun around teaching Modern Foreign Languages with children with autism/complex needs. The project would be developed by the introduction of more movement based work and more time spent on staff development.

Process

Fitz and Tids worked with a core group of 9 children to explore their ideas on the curriculum theme of Earth & Space. The artists expanded on the children’s ideas using music and movement play, from which a story evolved. The project culminated in an informal performance.

Impact

Key to the success was the collaboration between artists and staff who played an equal part in planning and preparation. Staff also generated ideas and creative activities between sessions. Using a combination of directed and non-directed activity, the artists feel they were able to reach all of the children involved, regardless of ability.

Next steps

Fitz and Tids are seeking funding to continue working with the school over a longer period in which older children take ownership of the process of creating an immersive performance based experience for small groups of children.

Find out more

Email Alan Fitzgerald or Tids Pickard