This week was one of the most fun classes we've had at Birkdale all year. After our regular warmups, I introduced a new activity inspired by the previous week's sharing of our favourite musicians. To the tune of Michael Jackson's Beat It, we cleared a runway and had the kids take turns striking poses to the song. As we repeated the exercise, we added new songs and new directives on how to step and pose to various rhythms in the song, also thinking about expressing a quality of movement that would go with the songs. When we put on AC/DC (one of the kids' favourite artists) we emphasized stepping in time with a tougher feel, and with Madonna's Vogue we emphasized a dancier quality to the rhythm. The kids showed great enthusiasm for each others' creativity, and a bunch of kids teamed up and showed their intricate dance routines! This class felt like a breakthrough because some of the ESL kids who were a bit more shy with singing exercises had a lot more freedom to express themselves, and the change in their demeanour really showed! I definitely want to keep the focus on movement with this group going forward.