Show rw t 1 fir h hAS AS r d f t Free movement Is demonstrated by left to right Danny Witt Dan and Jimmy Nelson Bart Snow V dancing class provides exercise For all the games they play and races they run do children get the variety of exercise they need They dont don't says Mrs Mary Witt particularly the ones between seven and eleven By the time they've reached this age she claims most children have lost the ability to express themselves freely They've become Inhibited and afraid to explore Observe children children children chil chil- dren this age I think you'll agree their movements tend to be stiff compared with those of younger boys and girls According to Mrs Witt If children lose the ability to express express express ex ex- ex- ex press themselves freely in their movements this loss will be reflected in other ways per ways perhaps perhaps per per- haps in the way they sing or paint or relate to other people or even live life Its a loss of creativity she says Mrs Witt Is teaching classes in the Snow College Continuing Continuing in ing g Education program that are intended to help children de develop develop develop de- de and retain their ity She calls the classes creative creative creative cre rhythmic dancing We tWe teach children how their bodies move she explains and how to use their bodies to express themselves Children Children Children Chil Chil- dren from four tour to seven are creative and free We should continue to give them which will help them express these qualities The 30 boys and girls in Mrs Witts Witt's classes have created created created cre cre- something they call City of Boxes The Their 1 r city changes in appearance from day to day as they move the cartons they have painted about to provide settings for the dances they create Its fascinating to watch the stories they tell In their dances about life in the city Mrs Witt says Mostly they're happy happy hap hap- py stories but sometimes catastrophe strikes Just as in real cities The movements they tell these stories In have a natural grace and freedom they express a kind of joyousness because after all Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf Wol These qualities according to Mrs Witt often deteriorate in time into physical emotional and social rigidity Actually she says desirable qualities They help people ad adjust adjust adjust ad- ad just to the stresses of life to adapt to grow and to have fun And that's why we want children to go on dancing |