I am enjoying my time at plan B and living in the Highlands, in fact I have been lucky enough to have to have two brilliant classes from my boss this week as well as time to work on my solo, teach and go and see David Hughes Dance performing Trialogue so all is good over here.

However I do still miss working in London.

I am still down as a cover teacher for Laban’s education department, and therefore was offered their in-house professional development training concentrating on Dance and Health.

Current areas of focus are:

– obesity – mental health – disability – older adults – hospital contexts – brain injury

There are quite a few of these contexts that I haven’t worked in before so I was intrigued as to how I may approach them, especially as some contexts may be rather sensitive.

So I went down to London for a day to attend the first of the training sessions. More than anything I appreciated meeting with fellow dance practitioners and discussing what we do and why. It was really brilliant to have people to share our thoughts with; and to asses our own practice whilst reflecting with others.

The practical session was extremely useful with some great improvisation ideas (which I have since tried out in a local high school and have worked a treat) and the discussion really allowed me to remind myself what is important for us when teaching and how we can ensure the work we are doing is inclusive. Any opportunity to reflect on my practice is greatly appreciated, and I loved being in Laban and meeting old friends.

I was really inspired by other people’s ideas, and it was great to learn that fellow dancers and I were on the same page.

Definitely looking forward to the next session! Kathryn x