Local Leap Meeting in Helsinki 14 March 2014  16.00-19.00

Meeting was attended by:

Elina Ikonen (Islo, admin)

Pia Lindy (islo, facilitator)

Sally Davison

Jonna Lehto

Vera Lapitskaya

Liisa Jaakonaho

We started with a talk and checking that everyone had read emails with information about LEAP and Idocde. Each participant introduced herself and briefly told what she has been up to recently. The parcticipants also could tell how they relate their own work as teachers to the title and theme of the coming LEAP symposium Teach me (not).

Some themes or topics whichwere introuced:

- How pedagogy and therapy (if one has both professions) are influencing or present in the work;

- Different layers in dance/movement teaching. Philosophy or thinking behind the movement or moving or behind the teaching;

- Values: what is valued in dance, in bodies, in movement? How art and dance are influenced by the values of the society?

- When teaching children, how could we adapt to their images and ways of thinking instead of trying to bring them into the adult world?

- How to collaborate with people from other professions? (how to find equality in the collaboration and mutual respect and listening);

- How does an artist teach? An artist who uses his/her experiences from the work as an artist in order to teach compared to an art teacher with pedagogical studies without so much experience of working as an artist.

Working and moving together:

After the introductions of the topics which were lately in our main interests we got into some movement exercises facilitated by each participant. In an e-mail sent earlier Pia (facilitator) had invited participants to prepare an exercise or a task which they would like to present/lead to the others.

Vera Lapitskaya:  a warming up exercise “happy baby”

Liisa Jaakonaho: combining talking and moving (working in pairs)

Elina Ikonen:  focus on touch and compression (working in pairs)

A group improvisation (25 min) focusing on meeting others and finding dialogues

At the end of the meeting we had a talk about idocs and eligibility. There were also some questions brought:

How active one would like to be considering the  whole LEAP-project and coming symposium?

What ways of work would support us working in the LEAP-project? (doing idocs together, helping each other, a possible forum with a chosen topic on IDOCDE).

How to find different opportunities LEAP and IDOCDE-webpage can offer (also to meet our individual needs and interests)

Local LEAP Meeting in Joensuu 16 March 12.00-16.00

Meeting was attended by:

 Elina Ikonen (ISLO, admin)

Pia Lindy (ISLO, facilitator)

Miia-Maija Mäntylä

Minni HIrvonen

Mari Kortelainen

Anna Venäläinen (came at 14.00)

 Beginning talk. Looking at the web-page together and at introductory things there.  Watched John Taylor´s tutorial “how to make an i doc”. Pia and Elina gave information about iDOCDE and LEAP

 Working and moving together. Like in Helsinki people had an excersise or a task prepared (voluntary)

 Elina: Working with touch and compression (in pairs)

 Pia: From the floor the standing. A warm up- exercise  (for 25-30 minutes) that Pia has been leading most recently to women recovering from drug/alcohol abuse and amateur groups.

 Minni Hirvonen: Mapping the space. A third (last) part of a 3 -part exercise that Minni has been leading to different groups, most recently to elderly people and teenagers (also in one-to-one sessions)

Things/topics that came up:

Values - for example when the funding side or the employer does not see the value of your work or when the work and process take longer than someone expects. (or looks different than expected)

Price of things (goes well together with questions of values) 

When do reality and non-reality meet? For example when working with people with problems on their the body image (eating disorders etc). The person and the body you see in the mirror is not quite the same what the other people see. The practice, experience and seeing don´t meet or are in conflict. How to approach that kind of conflicts as a dance teacher?

Talk and feedback

Ending talk: questions about activity - how active one wants to be or is able to be considering Leap. Going through people´s possible interests and availabilities  in the travelling to the Vienna symposium this summer.