An upcoming dance performance wants kids to be the main audience.
Circle time for toddlers is not uncommon. Australian dancer and choreographer Sally Chance makes it different. In her unique theatre for toddlers, Touch and Go, it’s circle time for the kids, their parents and the dancers; the munchkins could participate in the latter’s performance as they weave in and out of the circle. That the parents keep a watchful gaze over their kids is another story.
Sally Chance, who has been in theatre for about 30 years now, notes, “Touch & Go, as are all our works, is a meeting point between child and performer/performance, where the presence of the children, whether they are participating by gazing at the show or by moving close to the action to dance themselves, has an effect on the performance because they contribute to the show by being there.” So, parents be there but then, try not to be ‘out there’ cajoling or coaxing your toddler. That’s one of the rules laid out. “Please know that your child will be participating but that this may be quietly or in a more overt manner. Either way, it's all participation. There's no need to try to make their participation happen. We want you to be with your child, watching them and playing with them. Therefore, there are no phones, toys, food or other stuff in the performance, just as there aren't at adult shows. Relax and enjoy the show with your child.”
In the backdrop of singing and a guitarist, two dancers will swirl and move in the circle in a way that will encourage children to participate in the performance. In 2016, when Touch and Go was created, the idea was to pay attention to the needs of slightly older children, aged 2 and 3, whose entire sense of being in the world is about their agency and capacity to make things happen through play. Chance reiterates, “Touch & Go helped refine our ethos of "I see you seeing me" where the "I" may be the child or the performer. In this way, the performance is a meeting point between child and performer/performance, where the presence of the children (whether they are participating by gazing at the show or by moving close to the action to dance themselves) has an effect because they contribute to the show by being there.”
The point of this kind of interaction is the fact that neurologically, babies and young children are hard-wired for interaction. “It's what they do, making sense of their world in relationship with their safe adults. They seek out connection through their eyes, voices and playful offers. So, the interaction in the show arises from their impulses. The structure of the work leaves room for this.”
What actually happens during the performance is an interesting study of children’s behaviour. Some kids stay on their parents’ laps on near their ‘safe adult’ and watch from a distance, others venture into the circle to pick up objects that tumble off a latticed ball used by the performers. The music remains soothing and constant. Heather Frahn, the musician is also the composer, who created the music alongside the creation of the dance “in a devising process of dance and music.”
“We consulted with children along the way by inviting them into rehearsals,” Chance says.
Although Chance has worked on performances meant for children; from infants to toddlers, her mainstay is meeting specific groups of people and making performances in response to who they are. The benefits of arts education and exposure to dance, music and theatre for young children is recognised world over by educationists and child psychologists alike which is why Attakkalari decided to partner with Chance. And it’s a quid pro quo, she says, a learning experience for everyone involved.
What: Dance: Touch and Go by Sally Chance
When: Dec 7, 11am, 2pm, 5pm and Dec 8, 2pm, 5pm
Where: Attakkalari, RNK Arcade, 12th Cross, BTS Main Rd, Chinnayanpalya, Wilson Garden
