WORKSHOP SPOTLIGHTS
Indi Diarra | Mali & USA
One of the workshops I have been conducting is “ Bust A Groove ”. In this workshop , students learn through a more hands-on , physical approach . Regardless of dancing ability ( or lack thereof ), students can choose the session that best suits them , either by time or artist , and come learn a K-pop dance for two hours .
One might ask , “ What does learning a dance teach me other than the choreography ?” Well , dancing also teaches confidence , hones observational skills and gets the body moving . Those studying to be teachers know that variation in the classroom is important . Generally , students cannot just sit down and listen the whole time ; there needs to be a more physical activity . Dancing is also a good way to exercise and can be very relaxing and fun . Through this workshop , students develop and build skills in an innovative and entertaining way .
Left : Students showing off some of the dance moves they learned in Indi ’ s “ Bust a Groove ” workshop . Right : Students pose after “ guiding ” their peers to different tourist destinations via the New York subway .
Belinda Zhou | USA
A workshop that I really enjoyed presenting was “ Discovering New York City ”, which is about my hometown . In this workshop , students were first asked to share what they knew about New York . Most of this information came from films or TV shows , so they often named famous sights , such as Times Square , the Statue of Liberty , and Central Park . However , most students did not have further knowledge about New York , so we went over famous foods , such as bagels with lox ( salmon ), and music genres important to the city , like hip-hop . Students then tried to navigate the New York City subway system , which has almost 500 stops , by looking at a map and trying to connect three tourist sites . This proved to be a challenge for most students , but since they all have experience with public transportation , they were usually much better at navigating than many of the tourists I have met .
During the activities , students often asked me about what it is like to live in New York . A common question I would get was about safety , since many films and songs portray my hometown as a very dangerous place . In reality , while it is not as safe as Hong Kong , New York is quite safe as long as one stays alert . I also had a chance to talk about growing up in a Chinatown and compare it to living in Hong Kong . New York City is famous for a variety of things , but I really appreciated the opportunity to share some of its lesser-known aspects with students in my workshop .
MARCH 2018 4