• Lecture-demonstrations on dance.
• Short- term workshops for children and teachers.
• Intensive Residencies.
• Teacher training programmes.
• Regular ongoing sessions in Dance Education throughout the academic year.
• Choreographing dances for festivals and competitions.
• Skills-enhancement for dance teachers working in schools and colleges.

Through this programme, trained facilitators conduct ongoing classes and workshops in Movement Arts in schools and colleges.

The Process
Our team employs a child-centered and inclusive approach to Movement Arts education, trying to make each session participatory, creative and self-contained. We try to bring fun into learning and at the same time take care to follow sound pedagogic practices.

The education outreach programmes are offered to students from all backgrounds irrespective of their financial status, language, caste, creed or religion. These include private schools, government schools as well as schools and organizations from the voluntary sector that work with children with special needs or from underprivileged backgrounds.

Dance artists of international repute who have undergone training in India and abroad in a variety of movement styles and aspects of pedagogy lead the education team at Attakkalari. We have a core group of dancers as our resource team with expertise in various forms such as Contemporary Dance, Indian classical dance forms, Yoga, Kalarippayattu, Ballet, Mechanics of Movement and Body Conditioning, Contact Improvisation and Choreography.

Our philosophy and approach to Dance in Education is not to train students to become professional dancers but rather to use dance as a means to develop Kinesthetic, Visual, Spacial and Musical intelligence in young people. We have developed a structured project with a proper syllabus, lesson plans prepared according to this syllabus and a well-defined process for conducting classes and training youngsters. A creative dance therapist was drawn upon to provide expertise on dance pedagogy. Typically, each session can range between 40 minutes to 1.5 hours and is customized based on the school's requirements.

We also train students in contemporary dance for School day, Annual day, Founder’s day, etc and offer theme-based choreography.

Benefits of Dance Education
Some of the benefits of working with dance are self evident such as enhancing physical fitness and motor coordination while giving children a sense of rhythm. In addition, dance helps develop extra-verbal communication skills and enables children to be self-assured and at ease in groups. It encourages children to develop skills to work in a world requiring teamwork, without compromising on individual creativity. Thus, Movement Arts on the one hand reinforce learning while on the other, encourage creative and critical responses.

Physical education develops physical competence and confidence, and the ability to use these in a range of activities. It promotes physical skillfulness, physical development and knowledge of the body in action. It provides opportunities for pupils to be creative, competitive and to face different challenges individually and in a team. It promotes an affinity for active and healthy lifestyles.

Participants are encouraged to learn how to think in different ways to suit a variety of creative, competitive and challenging activities. They learn how to plan, perform and evaluate actions, ideas and performances to improve their quality and effectiveness. Through the process they discover their aptitudes, abilities and preferences, thereby understanding themselves better.

Over time they build on their natural enthusiasm for movement, using it to explore and learn about their world. They start to work and play with other participants in pairs and small groups. By watching, listening and experimenting, they develop their skills in movement and coordination, and enjoy expressing and testing themselves in a various situations.

The education outreach programme has exhibited that it nurtures the following in a student:

• Confidence & Self-esteem
• Creativity & Innovation
• Spacial awareness
• Sensorial awareness
• Fitness & kinesthetic development
• Lateral thinking
• Self Expression
• Positive processing of experiences
• Channeling Energy
• Observational Skills

Clients:

Over the last few years, Attakkalari has worked with over 35 schools and touched around 4000 students across diverse social strata. Some of the schools we have worked with are:

Al-Ameen School, Bangalore
- BKS High School, Bangalore
- Education Council,Bangalore
- Gaia Preschool, Bangalore
- Gear Innovative International School, Bangalore
- Golden Bead Montessori, Bangalore
- Greenwood High, Bangalore
- Gurukul, Bangalore
- Headstart, Bangalore
- Innisfree School, Bangalore
- Kattaikuttu Kalai Valarchi Sangham, Kanchipuram
- KGBV School, Bangalore
- Makkala Jagruthi, Bangalore
- Mastery International School, Bangalore
- National Academy for Learning, Bangalore
- Navkis Education Centre, Bangalore
- Neev Montess School, Bangalore
- New Horizon School, Bangalore
- Parikrama Learning Center (Hebbal) Bangalore
- Parikrama Learning Center (Jayanagar) Bangalore
- Parikrama Learning Center (Koramangala), Bangalore
- Prakriya, Bangalore
- Sindhi High School, Bangalore
- Sindhi High School, Bangalore

Corporate modules:

Stress Buster
Attakkalari is the pioneering organization in India conducting stress-relief programmes for corporate houses particularly in the BPO, Call Center and Software sectors. Stress Buster essentially comprises of contemporary dance-related physical movements and has been distinctively structured and tested on corporate houses. The programme has yielded positive results and is in much demand as an appropriate medium by which organizations can help their employees de-stress physically and emotionally.

Play Day
The Attakkalari Play Day module is a Creative Arts workshop which helps employees think outside the box, bond and relax. It uses diverse art forms and arts-based activities requiring no previous experience. A great leveler, the program is accessible to all, irrespective of any hierarchal bearing. The workshop is divided into three components: Dance, Drums and Doodle followed by a final presentation by the participants.

Classes for employees and their families
This encourages the employees to develop the art of expression through movement.

Customised Events
We can custom-build events or performances at conventions. This exercise can also be executed for individual departments at organisations.

Promenade Performance
Keeping the architectural features of the organisation's building alive, it will take the audience/employees on a trip around the campus, encountering exciting performances at different locations such as the aisles, foyer, corridors, steps, open areas, etc. This performance will have live action and projected images set to a captivating sonic world. The whole experience will be a feast to the senses and will be a welcome break during times of immense stress.

Benefits to the Company

• Promotes team-building and goal setting.
• Facilitates progressive ideas and right-brained activity which is intuitive and creative.
• Participation of all irrespective of gender and hierarchy.
• The Management get an opportunity to understand the potential and talent of reticent employees.
• Enables conflict resolution.
• Unearths different facets of the employees.
• Acts as a stress buster and invigorates the employees spirits.
• Enhances confidence, self-expression and leadership.
• It's fun, fun, FUN!