Description
The core of this project is the belief that theatre, music and dance in school are more effective when professionals work directly with students and lead them in a creative and performing process. The idea emerges from an existing and successful model created by the Teater Ibsen and the Skien Kulturskole, who prepares and presents original plays written and performed by the students within a professional theatre context. The main objectives are: - to improve formal school learning through artistic practice of theater, music and dance; - to improve students’ self-esteem through the sharing of cultures and experiences, learning from one of the world’s most renowned teaching staff and artistic professionals; - to provide students the opportunity to perform with their peers from Norway, allowing music to connect different cultures and people. - to provide teachers with a diversified set of pedagogic, artistic and relational strategies, motivating, mobilizing and training them for the necessary actions, bringing interdisciplinary artistic practice (theater, music, dance, visual arts, voice) to the center of curricular learning.
Summary of project results
“Othello’s Anatomy” was elaborated by Causas Comuns and Acordarte, bringing the artistic expressions to the center of school learning. The project included the creation of a theatrical show, a teacher training program, a set of workshops and masterclasses for students, an exchange program for music students and the publication of a replication model that could be implemented in other institutions. The implementation of the project in Escola Básica Luís António Verney was due to the pre-existing protocol with Acordarte and to the complicity between Causas Comuns’ artistic director and some teachers of that School. Escola Básica Luís António Verney has the desire to continue the project through a Basic Theater Course, similar to the Basic Dance and Music Courses they already offer, which they are working on, in partnership with Causas Comuns. Acordarte highlights the strengths of the project: 1. Project interest (social integration / education / arts in education) 2. Involvement of qualified professionals from various artistic areas 3. Number of students participating in the project and the interaction between them 4. Long experience of Norwegian partners 5. Receptivity of the public and students involved in the project.
Summary of bilateral results
Among the partners of this initiative are Companhia Olga Roriz, from Portugal, and the Norwegian entities Teater Ibsen, Skien Kulturskole and The Barratt Due Institute of Music. The project was developed through a close collaboration between all the partners, involving a number of student and teacher trips, which allowed a true exchange of knowledge and enrichment of life experiences. The established partnerships strengthened pre-existing relationships and allowed mutual learning, both personally and as structures, which were reflected in the methodologies to be applied and in the organization of human and material resources.