Dance to learn and heal” with Lizelle Steyn
The Old Irish had a saying, “You don’t give a man a weapon before you’ve taught him how to dance”. As educators, maybe, before we teach them how to strive and compete, we can first teach our children how to dance together in a circle. Not for an audience with perfectly synchronised steps, but rather to flow with and around one another, to bind the group together and at the same time to express themselves and to build their confidence.
In August 2025 I had the great honour of travelling from South Africa to Musanze to share dance & movement facilitation skills with an amazing group of L’Ecole Arc-en-Ciel teachers, 4 teenagers and one professional Intore dancer.
The Dance4Joy for Children programme was inspired by Kira SED’s invitation to design classes for children aged 3-6, and to guide and train up new teachers for this age group, a stage when emotional and social learning is crucial in human development. The programme uses the best of The Nia Technique, 5Rhythms, Biodanza, African dancing, JourneyThroughtheBody, Yoga4Kids, and animal movement to:
- Listen to and learn from the body’s wisdom
- Release stuck emotions like fear, anger, frustration and sadness
- Moderate strong emotions
- Learn teamwork and improve social skills
- Get some physical and mental exercise
- Build flexibility and creativity
- Link body, mind, emotion, and our spirit so we can be a whole person in this world.
From 5-7 August we sat together to focus on understanding the inner world, and the physical and emotional needs of small children in a movement class, so we could serve and guide them well. We learned how to design a 25-minute class by analysing and arranging a playlist according to the energy of different types of music, we explored themes and techniques that can hold the attention of little ones, we tried out new dance moves and animal imitations, we learned how to communicate clearly and positively and how to prepare a dance space. And of course we danced and moved – a lot!
I’m so proud of everyone in the group – Grace, Jean de Dieu, Kelia, André, Pamela, Olga, Daisy and Nadia – who completed the 3-day training, applied it in a practical with the children on the last day, and earned their Dance and Movement teacher’s certificate.
To Kira SED, your support was phenomenal! This was my first volunteership and you’ve set the bar very high. I had everything I needed to offer the best I could during this wonderful week. Thank you for the beautiful and nurturing verandah and garden venue, very comfortable and private accommodation, all the nutritious and delicious meals, your translation skills and good communication throughout. Most of all, thank you for your warmth and care.
Looking forward to keeping contact and staying involved in future.
