Reflections on A Nutcracker workshop with The Ballet Pod

On the 19^th December 2016 I taught and performed in a Nutcracker Workshop for children with The Ballet Pod.

I always find that these workshops are exhausting. Both teaching all day and then performing in the showing at the end of the day is always a challenge. However, a very rewarding experience. This year was made especially rewarding by the fact that one of the students, who has been coming to our classes and workshops for some years, has in the last few years been suffering from Rheumatoid arthritis. She did not believe that she would ever be able to do ballet again. But today she did the whole day and performed at the end. She was clearly so proud of what she achieved and it was quite an emotional moment when the performance was finished. It was hard because I found myself considering her needs all of the time, not wanting to jump too much, but at the same time having to take all the other children into consideration too. It all worked well in the end and I was very surprised by how much this little girl was able to do. In fact, when we spoke to her grandmother a couple of days later I was even more surprised to hear that she had not been in any more pain than usual the next day.

I felt like I made a difference to this young girl's life through this workshop, urging me to consider how dance can be used as a form of healing too and how every child should have the opportunity to have access to the art form. The other wonderful thing about this day was that this little girl was able to show enjoyment of her dancing and this was perhaps because she felt comfortable within the environment. This is one of the questions which I hope to explore in greater depth as I begin to plan my enquiry for Module 2.