It was time for the summer vacations. The children in our Cacra community library looked happy as they would now have time to do things that they like doing. Like most days, we stopped to interact with the parents and shared with them about the session of the day. While we were talking, one of the parents asked us if we are planning on having some extra sessions for the children in the holidays.
We decided to consider this, as the vision for the library program is also about responding to the community. We talked with the children who are regular readers in the library and it was interesting to learn that what they most wanted to do was to learn to dance!
Back in the Taleigao library the team was excited as it was the first time we were to have a dance workshop in the Cacra library.We went into planning mode and contacted a Resource Person, Sammy Coelho who loves dancing and working with children. We were a bit concerned about the children’s attendance as often in the library space there is a request for many things and many ideas are shared, but attendance and participation does not always follow with the same enthusiasm. However, the parents assured us that their children would definitely be present for this workshop.
The children who were interested started registering themselves for the workshop and we soon had 8 keen participants. The workshop was planned to be held over three days and the children who registered were of a mixed age group ranging from 5-15 years. It was a good number for the room and the dance sessions soon began, step by step. The session started with a warm up and the children created spaces for each other to move freely. Sammy then played the song they had to learn to dance on. Some of the senior children knew the song and they sang along. Sammy asked them if they know the meaning of the lyrics and interestingly most of them did understand the lyrics even though they rarely use these words.
The song was in Hindi and the children sang it better than they speak the language. Sammy taught them an exercise that includes following the mirror technique where the children mirrored his actions. After practicing each verse and chorus 4-5 times, the children could dance on their own. In between, when the children were given a break they showed some of their favorite dance steps to each other and then they shared some stories from the library with Sammy.
Three days went by very quickly and it added magic to the library. Since the library gives them space to be confident and express themselves they felt free about their movements in the library. At no point did Sammy have to worry about getting them not to be shy or to work together as a group. The children being aware of the space needed, were considerate of the space needed by the others. Age did not matter when it came to learning to dance; they all danced the same steps and the seniors took leadership to help the juniors understand the moves if they needed help.
Getting a Recourse Person like Sammy was refreshing and the parents enjoyed the way he conducted the sessions. He made the children laugh and also spoke to them about being good humans. The children were shocked to know what the signs, which they have picked up from watching people dance either on television or live shows, meant. They were happy to know the ‘peace’ sign and decided that they will not use actions they do not know the meaning of.
Towards the end of the three days the children were happy as they learnt to dance to three different songs. Some of the children also picked up the lyrics of the songs. When they realized that all the three days were done they asked Sammy to come the next day. They were all so involved in dancing and so comfortable with Sammy that they found it difficult to accept that the workshop was over. The parents came to the library and thanked Sammy. They told him to come to Cacra whenever he can. It was hard to leave the site that day and as we moved out we saw children singing and dancing on the road. It was a lovely farewell to Sammy and the happiness in the community was beautiful to see.
During the workshop we learnt how the children break free from any physical blocks they have when they do things that they like. It was interesting to know that the community see the library as a child’s development place and feel free to suggest what they wish for their children. The children knew that the library space could provide them with a fun activity like dance. We were happy to have this workshop and hope to have many more such opportunities to interact with the children through different activities.