Sports day at MOEV
Thank you MOEV for your exceptional organization!
"Moev" gets schools moving.
That was also the case on March 30, 2023, when they organized a sports day for schools for the blind and deaf. The sports day took place in Tervuren. After nearly 3 hours of driving and traffic (I live in Moerbeke Waas), I arrived late at the destination. Luckily, the sports day had not yet started, and I could begin the workshops just in time.
The program included 5 hours of dance lessons for children and youth. I was a little stressed about the last group because it was my first time teaching them.
So, there were 5 groups, with 2 groups under 12 years old and 3 groups above 12 years old. Of course, with different ages, you take a different approach each time.
I taught 70 young people that day! My heart literally jumped up and down because, if there's one thing visually impaired children love to do, it's jump! Oh my God! Pompaf hahaha. Jumping and jumping and jumping again! The songs did their best. “Forget the Time” by Regie and Camille and especially “In the Rain” by Camille for the littlest ones. Tiësto for the slightly older ones, “10:35,” and without preparation, the wildly enthusiastic youth with hearing impairment with “Jerusalema” by Master KG and Nomcebo Zikode.
And jump! jump! jump! jump ......
Some findings for trainers:
The vast majority of children with disabilities are visually impaired or hearing impaired. The disability is not always present at birth. So, for visual impairment, the mirror remains the most useful tool. There were many children whom I thought had quite good motor skills. It remains the task of sports, sports organizations, trainers, but above all parents, to maximize motor development from childhood through as much stimulation as possible before sight is fully lost.
This way, young children create later memories within their mobility. If you consider that the sports economy will multiply tenfold in the coming years, I think of all those adults who are blind but did too little sports in their younger years. For many sports, sight is not necessary. Especially not in dance. In addition to developing language and music, two pillars I often encounter in the blind community, it seems essential to focus on movement from a young age! It remains a fundamental fact that movement and mobility are carriers of freedom. If you want to nourish this future freedom and independence, I believe that as a parent, you should encourage your child to move as much as possible.
Sports days like these organized by MOEV are therefore super important!
On the one hand, children can play sports in a safe environment, with plenty of supervisors (each group with hearing impairment also had a sign language interpreter) and the environment is familiar to the classmates.
Dance tools:
The cane: For the blind children, I again used their cane as a horizontal reference point. The barre remains the most useful tool for me, but in the absence of that, you can still feel that the cane is a support for the blind and is used as a safe and recognizable tool.
Foot yoga: I had the children take off their shoes. In the future, I would like to pay more attention to “the feet.” Generally, hobby dancers do not pay enough attention to fully using their feet. A foot has toes, a side, a middle section, and a heel. Too many people do not use their entire foot. In classical ballet, the “feet” are the most important body part. Learning to stretch, manipulate, tilt, curve, and rotate the feet should be part of every dance course. During the second edition of the “DanceOrientation Festival,” this will also be addressed. We coined it foot gymnastics for analogy, but it could just as well be called foot yoga. I would like to write about my findings on this in the fall.
Partner connection: Partner connection remains very important for the fun factor of the sport (dance). Even at a young age, we like to be in contact with the other. In the case of children, friends. Tip: “Let go”: it doesn’t always have to be so serious. Just have fun!
After the 5 workshops, I had to rush back to Ghent. Laure was in Cuba, and I had 3 more hours of dance lessons that evening in the regular program. I was exhausted that day. Luckily, I could count on Manuel, who helped me quietly that evening with the necessary assistance.
March 30, 2023, is marked in my calendar as the day I taught the most hours! A total of 8 hours.
The next day, my body was in need of rest. That worked out well because it was the start of the Easter holidays.
"Project call visual disability and inclusion" King Baudouin Foundation.
New comments for this article:
Dance tools: In addition to the cane, use of a cord with tape as a horizontal line.
Foot gymnastics: We take a small circus ball between both feet and walk with it back and forth, trying to roll the ball with the soles of the feet.
Exercises on the balance beam.
Image Description
Photo 1: Moev logo. Moving letters in black with yellow and green.
Photo 2: A visually impaired girl of about 6 years old is copying the 5th ballet position. Legs crossed, both arms raised above her head in the air.
Photo 3: Michèle is standing with a group of visually impaired and blind children, and she is holding one of them up.
Video 1: Music video by singer “Camille: In the Rain.” The video takes place in a castle. Camille is slender with blonde curls. She wears a white, short, form-fitting dress and a scarf of white ostrich feathers. She applies makeup and wears red lips. After a solo dance, she is filmed on a balcony where the press takes photos. She then steps out in front of the castle and begins to dance with four dancers of different nationalities behind her in beige raincoats. The scene cuts to her and a young man discussing before they start dancing. They both wear suspenders. There is lightning, and it begins to rain. Camille is now in a black top with bling and a short pink skirt. In the background, many dancers in vibrant colors perform the same steps as she does, and it begins to rain.
Video 2: Music video by singer “Camille: Forget the Time” with Regie. Regie is sitting at a black grand piano wearing a black suit and black tie, with a spotlight on him. Camille is sitting at a makeup table in a long gold gala dress. The video then switches to Camille dancing with a group of female dancers arranged in a V-shape behind her. During the chorus, the video changes into various colors, and Camille wears different outfits and colors each time. She now dances alone and smiles. The video ends with Regi and her at the grand piano again.
Video 3: Michèle dances “Jerusalema” with deaf youth.
