Our amazing experience working with South Auckland Tamariki in 2022
Fit Hop Community Classes Term 2 - 2022
What an incredible term we have had!
From starting with a few new and shy individuals in week one, we created some top notch performers and dancers by our week 10 showcase! The youth town group that shares our space were excited to have the opportunity to do something else with their after school care program that included a dance class every Wednesday afternoon. The 7-11yr olds were all amazing to teach and were really keen and attentive during class which made teaching the whole group so great.
Our regular crew that started in Term 1 continued with the classes in Term 2 and have improved so much over the first half of the year.
One particular moment I loved about our end of term showcase was the backstage banter and team spirit from our 7-11yr olds. They huddled in their team circle and shouted their crew name on 3 - 1 2 3 “Honey Crew!!!” This was something we did once before in a class practice, and was totally all them on the performance day to include their team hype before they got on stage.
One of my main goals through this program is to create those friendships and encouragement from peers, avoiding any cliques emerging or the group splitting off into exclusive teams outside of the whole. This did begin to emerge, and its great that some of the girls feel like they are becoming close, but I gently reminded them that having a group within the group might make others feel left out and we don’t want anyone feeling excluded in any way. So I stamped out the cliques and reinforced the group were one as a whole. When they have a team name to go by it makes it easier and gives them that identity within the team as a valued member.
I had costumes and accessories for both the 4-6yr olds and 7-11yr olds and made it suit each of their styles of performance. This was an expense covered by our funding which the students all took home with them for memorabilia and continued use. For example the 7-11yr old group got pink beanies, which is ideal for these winter months that they can continue to use daily to keep warm and wear when ever they like.
The younger kids 4-6 yrs old had more cute costumes like tutus and diamanté cat ear headbands, which made them all feel like princess kitten ballerinas for their day and I could see they loved the way it made them feel.
We set up a backdrop to give our performance space more of a stage feel, and the kids mentioned that they were feeling a bit nervous about the performance day when they saw the stage like set up I had constructed for them. It helped them also to stick to their formations and also have a backstage area to retreat to post performance
I designed Fit Hop certificates for each individual performer as a participation award, without singling out any ‘best dancers’ or ‘best performers’ in the group, though there were undoubtedly certain individuals that shone out. I wanted to acknowledge them each as individuals and though the certificates were merely an acknowledgement of participation and a general comment of “awesome dancing in term 2”. I made it a big deal for them. I called out each dancer one by one announcing their name, as the audience clapped for them, shook their little hands and gave them the certificate in front of all the spectators including their friends and family members who had come to watch the show. This was a great feeling to see each face light up when I called their name, like they had won an Oscar! The audience diligently clapped for each and every dancer, and kept up the enthusiasm over the 20 or so kids certificate receiving we had on stage that day.
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