Monday, June 7, 2010
Connie, Jan 25th - Apr 1st, 2010 - Rhythmic Gymnastics at Ballet de Santa Teresa
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Louise Jardine - July to August 2009
Louise Jardine: louise_jardine@yahoo.co.uk
I worked with Ballet de Santa Teresa. My placement was funded by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust because it was the main part of a research project I’ve been working on. The research project was closely linked to my job in
I taught contemporary dance classes to students at BST. I also taught some choreography classes and supported outings to places of cultural significance so the children and young people learnt more about the city they live in and their history. I supported Vania’s ballet classes and some of the techniques, styles and phrases the children learnt and created with me will be used in the school’s end of year show.
Please ensure volunteers on this placement speak Portuguese at elementary+ level. It would be very hard to contribute meaningfully to the work of the school without any Portuguese language skills.
Iko Poran had my CV and knew of my interest in working with a dance organization before I arrived in
4 or 5 weeks is a very short time and I think it’s unrealistic to think a volunteer can contribute without better preparation before arriving in
I had the most incredible time with BST and really hope that I helped and supported BST as much as they inspired me. I tried hard to contribute and fit into the schools ways and structures and would advise any future volunteer to do the same. My advice would be to listen a lot and to remember that we are there for them, not the other way around.
My experience has encouraged me in my own work and was certainly a challenge! I would volunteer again but I think I would only do so for a longer time period (6 months minimum).
I would also add that the best volunteers I met in
I hope this is constructive and thank you for everything you did to help me work with BST.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Hanna Kivistö, 26.06.09 - 20.08.09
Hanna Kivistö:
ojalasupiera@hotmail.com
I assisted two other volunteers in giving English classes to the younger (4-7 year-olds) and the older (8-14 year-olds) kids two days a week. I also gave Spanish classes for the older kids twice a week.
The English classes were spent mainly in preparing the kids for an exam they were having. Both of the groups learned names for school objects, colors, numbers, animals and food items. Since there was another main teacher, my job consisted of responding to the kids questions, helping them with the exercises and just giving them attention. I didn’t do any formal teaching. I had a lot teaching material with me, but the main teacher already had her own material, so I couldn’t use mine, but left it in the ballet for future needs.
In general, I would recommend the future volunteer to study some Portuguese before arriving, since no one at the ballet speaks English. Also, it is difficult to teach the kids if you don’t know any Portuguese. I would also recommend the volunteer to take an active role and keep contact with the Ballet constantly, since that way you achieve more and are aware of the possible changes in schedules.
Feel free to use the material I left; ask Geiza or the kids where to find it. My plan was to continue with gustar and describing people and geographic locations, so maybe you could start there. The kids are very eager to learn Spanish, so I don’t think you will come up with any motivational problems, but be aware of their different levels. If you can, try dividing the kids according to their level of proficiency. Little by little you could also draw their attention to the aspects of pronunciation since they had quite a few problems with certain sounds.