Andrea Carmona Hernandez (she/her)

A 6-week artistic residency in a Mexican preschool which worked with dance to develop children’s participation. Children, teachers and parents of 5 different classes took part in weekly dance workshops in the school playground. Through games, choreography and improvisation we explored communication, empathy and embodied knowledge.

In choreographic workshops for teachers and carers in the Botanical Garden, adults took inspiration from working with the children to create an inter-generational, participatory dance piece. This time grown-ups dance for children, trying to change, for one moment, how we usually relate in school performances.

  • A red rubber mat in a school playground. Preschool children and teachers observe as a dance teacher jumps.
  • A school yard in which mums and children hold hands facing each other and dance along narrow strips of rubber floor.
  • A school assembly outside. Six dancers perform for school children; arms raised in the air. Rows of children watch from seats, some also raising their hands.
  • Two dancers in purple skirts perform for an audience of children seated on chairs in the school yard. A pile of books is in between the dancers.