March 6, 2010
Outside the Terra Kulture Center
Our first master class in Nigeria was at an arts center named "Terra Kulture". It was a class for about fifty children from ages four to eleven. For such a large group of kids, I think we were all expecting it to be a bit loud and rowdy as we entered the room. But they seemed surprisingly disciplined, the inside voices were on! We divided them into three groups according to age. I assisted Arcell with the four to six year olds. It reminded me of the creative movement classes I used to assist with in New York. Kids at that age are just so open and eager to learn. It makes teaching feel just that much more rewarding. And gives you a greater responsibility as they are also more impressionable. Even if they don't remember what we physically did in class, the experience will stick with them in its own way shape or form. They all did very well picking up what we showed them and seemed to enjoy themselves the entire time. After we gave the class we flipped the script and asked them to teach us. Most of them were a bit shy, but a few of the older children showed us some movements from different traditional Nigerian dances. It was a nice exchange and a great start to our stay in Nigeria.
Clarice learning a traditional Nigerian dance from the students
-Lilli Tai
