A Lifetime of Dance: Practical in-person session, London: 10:00am – 1:00pm

The in-person session, in partnership with Groundswell Arts, will be hosted by Associate Artist for Early Years Liz Clark and led by guest artist, renowned early years dance practitioner Jasmine Pasch. Jasmine will deliver a practical session, followed by an in-person Q & A.

Children learn all about the world by interacting physically with it right from the start of life. Their learning is dependent on the internal processes of maturation in the body and the brain simultaneously, on their interaction with the environment indoors and outside, at home and in our early years settings, and in the quality of relationships they experience with significant adults, peers and siblings. As they seek to 'figure things out' themselves, our role is to listen deeply and to accompany them on the playful path of discovery, exploration, experimentation, and trial and error woven through each and every day.

Jasmine’s practical workshop will help you to explore and discover how active engagement of the body influences far more than we might imagine and will include:

• An understanding of why babies and children move in the ways that they do, explaining the sensory and motor foundations for learning and development
• A look at some of the significant developmental patterns of the first year of life, and how these form the foundations for later learning, brain development, health and well being (based on the work of Bette Lamont “The Brain Nanny”, Seattle, USA)
• Creating “irresistible invitations” using a variety of inexpensive, open-ended resources to engage babies and children’s imaginations in stimulating and meaningful play.

For the in-person session please wear comfortable clothing for moving around and bring a water bottle.

This event will be held at Triangle Family Hub, 91-93 St Ann’s Road, South Tottenham, London N15 6NU.

In-person cost:

• People Dancing members: £10.00
• EYDN members: £15.00
• Standard: £20.00.

Access

Please book early if you require access support. Bookings made after 23rd October 2024 cannot be guaranteed to accommodate all access requests due to adequate notice given. If your disability means that booking early is difficult due to a fluctuating condition, please get in touch to arrange booking if this is after this date.

Book your in-person place here

Booking deadline: midday Monday 04 November 2024.

Collaborate & Connect: Online discussion session, Zoom: 11:00am – 12:30pm

This online session will be hosted by People Dancing’s Head of Inclusion and Early Years Programme manager Louise Wildish, and will provide a relaxed space to share practice, learning and reflection.

The session will support Early Years Dance Network (EYDN) members to come together and meet one another from specific regions to create new collaborations and connections.

There will also be a group discussion about some of the wider sector initiatives, priorities and visioning that supports early years dance, along with the opportunity for EYDN members to feed into the future of the Network and learn more about People Dancing’s commitment to early years.

Online cost:

• People Dancing Members: FREE
• EYDN members: FREE
• Standard ticket: £5.00.

Access

Please book early if you require access support. Bookings made after 23rd October 2024 cannot be guaranteed to accommodate all access requests due to adequate notice given. If your disability means that booking early is difficult due to a fluctuating condition, please get in touch to arrange booking if this is after this date.

Book your online place here

Booking deadline: midday Monday 04 November 2024.

About Liz Clark

Liz is People Dancing’s Associate Artist for Early Years. She is also a dance artist, trainer and consultant with over 25 years experience of working in dance in early years and with children with special educational needs. Liz also leads a coaching programme for Early Years Practitioners which was shortlisted for a 2022 National Day Nurseries Award for its work to supporting children with SEND. She blogs thoughts and ideas about dance and creativity at www.ourcreativeadventure.com and is passionate about enabling other people’s creativity to blossom, the power of dance to transform relationships and making dance accessible and inclusive.

She is Artistic Director of Turned On Its Head, a dance company making dance theatre for 0-4’s, who are currently making and touring their new outdoor show The Delights. Liz is currently working with Professor Jools Page from Brighton University on an exploration of Professional Love through the lens of dance improvisation. From 2020-2021 she was the lead artist on the Talent 25 arts research programme at De Montfort University working with babies aged 0-2: www.dmu.ac.uk/community/public-engagement/talent-25/index.aspx 

About Jasmine Pasch

Born and raised in Leicester, Jasmine trained as a professional dancer at the London School of Contemporary Dance. She later trained as a teacher through the University of Nottingham at the City Literary Institute in London, and went on to gain a post-graduate Diploma in Counselling from the University of London, Goldsmiths’ College.

A lifelong passion for moving, playing and dancing has led Jasmine to develop a freelance career investigating the connections between body and brain development, outdoor play and deep level learning through engaging with the natural world. Jasmine became an Associate of Early Education in 2015 delivering training courses in infant physical development through play, keynote speeches on learning through the body, and writing for publications.

About Louise Wildish

Louise has worked in the arts for over 25 years working in diverse spaces from theatres, galleries and museums through to prisons and secure units and with numerous organisations spanning over a freelance career.

Her roles have included actor, director, dramaturg, education manager, associate artist and producer.

Louise joined People Dancing in 2013 as Producer, Deaf and disabled People – working on the successful 11 Million Reasons photography exhibition and then working across the organisation as Director of Engagement. Louise is now Head of Inclusion.

Photo credits: TOP - People Dancing Summer Intensive 2024. Photo: Mark Anderson; SECOND - Liz Clark. Photo: Ruth Taylor; THIRD - Jasmine Pasch; FOURTH - Louise Wildish.