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Hope Creative Project - Filwood, Bristol. Session 4 - January 2017

Session 4 - January 2017

 

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend Session 3 in December so I was excited to see the children after their Christmas break.

We again had three children for this session, which meant they each had at least one practitioner to work with, which really helped with personal development and focus. Child A was very keen to make use of the microphone/PA system we had, and immediately got to work in assigning roles for myself and two other practitioners. She knew exactly what she wanted to achieve which was amazing to see and it really felt like we were entering the early stages of a very detailed production. I was assigned the role of drummer and used the drum box to create a simple rhythm for Child A to sing over. This seemed to create a clear backbone for the project, enabling her to then start thinking about lyrics. What I found most interesting was that she knew what she wanted to sing about, however she involved everyone in the writing process, showing inclusivity in her own work. By adopting this approach, we were able to create some incredibly meaningful lyrics and explore emotions through the music, some of which may have possibly been kept locked away otherwise.

We sat down and wrote nearly three sheets of lyrics, taking breaks to practice our rhythms to make sure they would fit together. Whilst we were practicing, I suggested incorporating the xylophone in to our performance, being careful not to take any of the spotlight away from her singing. She was happy to have this extra element in the project, and we actually ended up creating two separate songs, one with the drum box and one with the xylophone. It was great to see musical diversity within her ideas, production and performance, and it was clear to see that after a final performance to the carers and practitioners, she felt a huge sense of pride and achievement.

As I had worked with Child A for the entire session, I had to wait until the final performances to see what Child B and C had created. We were all treated to a theatrical performance, with both Child B and C working together on a fantasy story and showing us how they had implemented their imagination in to a physical setting. 

This session really showed how all three children are gaining confidence in their abilities and beginning to understand how emotions and imagination can be expressed in so many different ways.