OUR PHILOSOPHY

Coming from a culture where dance is part of everyday life and where the body is not an external thing that carries us through life, but it simply is who you are – You live your body; You don’t live with your body – has awakened my interest in observing how children, all children, live this way. If we allow our children to dance and to be in their bodies, we will never find the need to integrate what has been given to us in the most integrated way: mind, body and authentic expression. Rosana and her team of teachers at Calliope work based on a philosophy centered around the following ideas:

• At Calliope we support our natural feeling of loving ourselves. Self-love is the basis for loving others and as we love our body in all its dimensions – as children – we grow knowing deeply in the roots of our body what genuine love, respect and integrity is.

• At Calliope we understand that the body is one in all its dimensions (physical, mental, intellectual, emotional, spiritual). We see every child holistically in her process of becoming her individual self.

• We go beyond traditional dance training; we focus on the body, the movement and the whole child.

• Children have their own wisdom to understand life and the world we are in. At Calliope we go with what the child’s wisdom has to teach us!

• We focus on fun… on the pure sense of joy that the child naturally has.

• The child doesn’t separate what he is from what he does with his body. Giving the opportunity for the child to explore his body, to enjoy his body, builds self-confidence and a secure way to stand in the world.

• Dance helps us not to disintegrate what has been given to us in the most integrated way. As children we are one in all our dimensions (physical, psychological, emotional, intellectual).

• We are a place where the children can be themselves; a space where the children can be children!

• We are A Big Family of Little Dancers!

• Understanding my own space, the space of others and a greater space through the experience of the body dancing, helps us build strong relationships to myself, the other and the world.

• We offer a safe environment for the child, where we nurture her imagination and the natural intelligence of her body.

• We work based on the patterns of movement development we established previous to birth and as infants during our first year of life. If one of these developmental patterns was skipped, we can experience imbalances in how we function physically and intellectually. Our classes offer a way for the child to get to the roots of her movement; to go back to how her Basic Neurological Patterns were embodied.

• We believe in dance as a vehicle to heal physical, emotional and intellectual challenges that the child might be experiencing.

• Dance is for all – All children should dance and be free in their bodies and expression!

• We believe in the importance of rhythm and regularity in a child’s life so our children meet the same teacher every week; the class follows the same structure where there is always space for freedom, imagination and creativity. And each class the child takes is based on a well-studied lesson plan.

• Our lesson plans are so loved by the children that we have to keep doing their favorite year after year: the spaghetti monster; the naughty shoes; the artist mice and the museum!

• We end the year with a fun recital where 150 children transform the stage into a magical and colorful world full of unique music, costumes and choreography! The process of preparing for a specific goal – for dancing on stage with friends – and then doing it in front of an audience, who watches with love, is such an enriching experience for the child!