Dialogic Literary Gatherings (DLGs) were used in weekly theatre class weekly with a wide age-range of pupils who used body movement to connect with their kinesiology and emotions. Homer’s classics (The Odyssey and Iliad) as well as Aesop’s Myths (mostly the Rabbit and the Turtle) were used.
2nd Elementary school of Agios Ioannis Rentis
Piraeus, Greece
Impact and successes
In this context DLGs evolved from reading parts of the play to express feelings and thoughts through body movement. The main goal was to establish a connection between speech and movement of body parts, through comprehending the actual meaning of each part of the theatrical play and respect each student’s vision and understanding.
Lessons, learning and recommendations
It was a challenge to engage students of a wide range of ages when communicating with each other through body language. Participating students understood that there is always a way to communicate with each other despite language boundaries. Patience was key, since in the beginning students were overwhelmed with the difficulty of the task, ending up in laughter and only ‘having fun’.