An intensive dance film workshop for children age 9-14 years where their everyday surroundings are transformed into evocative and poetic universes. Together with the participants Maia investigates how they look at their familiar spaces, such as their classroom, school courtyard or gym by challenging the way they normally move and behave. These movements are seen and captured through the camera lens and edited to short dance films. The aim of the workshop is for the participants to rediscover their everyday surroundings (school, playground, neighborhood. etc).

During the production of the dance film, each group goes through a collaborative process where they need to make conscious choices of locations, choreography, filming and editing. All participants are challenged to both perform and film in order for everyone to try all aspects of creating a work as well as giving them a stronger sense of ownership for the end result.

The workshop aims to give the participants an aesthetic perspective on what you can do with the video media, which most youngsters are already using. Additionally the workshop stresses the importance of collaborations across genders, social groupings, interests and other differences there might be in a school class, as well as the given tasks will challenge existing stereotypical gender roles within the groups (i.e. girls are dancing in front of the camera and boys are filming and editing).

The photos were taken during five different workshops in Faroe Islands in 2019. The workshops were part of Listaleypurin – a program for children and schools where the purpose is to experience professional art. What does my world look like was supported by Nordic Culture Point Mobility Support.

Photo credits: Mirko Lazovic