Primary School Festival 22/05/14 @ Terry O’ Toole Theatre

The summer edition of the Primary Festival hosted four Primary Schools; Coleby Church of England Primary School, Skellingthorpe St Lawrence Church of England Primary School, The Meadows Primary School and Thorpe on the Hill - St Michael’s Church of England Primary School who all worked hard over the past six weeks to produce a dance piece focusing on the theme of ‘transitions to Secondary School’. When creating their pieces they explored themes expressing and exploring the emotions linked to this change. The show also featured three performances from North Kesteven School including an all-male company formed by several Year 7-10 boys, a piece by Year 8 and 9 girls and finally a BTEC group of students.

I, Sophie Watkinson and Amy O’ Sullivan worked with the four Primary Schools allowing the children to explore different areas, feelings and ideas associated with the theme of transition into Secondary School. We felt it was important for the children not only to learn, create and adapt movement but to also offer the opportunity to express just how they really feel about embarking on a new and exciting chapter of their lives.

Some of the children, who have never had any previous dance or performance experience, responded well to the duration of the project – the children learnt basic movement styles, developed their own group sections and some even managed to produce lifts and execute tricks. The children were introduced to the marvel of working through a technical rehearsal and were able to witness the same process with the other Primary Schools and the groups from NK School. Workshops kindly organized by NK School and it’s staff were also provided for the children in order to grasp a sense of what subjects they will expect to learn when making the step up to Secondary School.

Two performances one at 6:00pm, the other at 7:15pm held a warm, kind and receptive audience filled with proud family members and friends who were grasped by the children’s dynamic movement capabilities. Being present backstage and having the honor of hosting both performances I could really feel the uproar and excitement coming from the children as they waited to go on stage. The audience, artsNK staff, North Kesteven School staff and spectators from the Primary Schools were all encapsulated by how the children performed. 

I would like to thank all of those who were involved with the project and supported me throughout. It was a delight to see the children performing and gain a sense of achievement. For them to watch groups who have had success at a Secondary School, to be given the chance to create a dance piece from scratch and to perform it live in front of an audience I believe took a lot of dedication and self-belief. I applaud the Primary Schools for making the decision to allow their pupils the chance to exceed and try something new and to the children for performing with energy, charisma and passion.

We shall look forward to working with some new Primary Schools for the next Festival and we hope to see you all there.

James Kitney (Community Dance Artist – artsNK)