“Damm, damm, dada damm” is what it sounds like in the sports hall of the “Dinglingerschule” support center in Dresden. One half of class 6a started with the canon, then the other half went to work. The crystal clear soprano by Nicolle Cassel sounds. Petra Hanisch gives precise instructions with her arms. The students are fully committed to the cause.
It is the conclusion of a three-day intensive course. The young people received dance and singing lessons from Petra Hanisch and Nicolle Cassel, rehearsed a choreography, learned steps on the floor and gained confidence in the other who walks in front of you and is not allowed to stand still. While sitting, the children let water droplets ring out with their mouths – a great relaxation exercise that teacher Josephine Leuschner would like to use in class in the future.
Fee rates at the lowest limit
Four classes from the “Dinglingerschule” support center benefited from the dance and singing project – financed from funds for all-day offers from the Free State of Saxony and donations from the Aufwind Kinder- und Jugendfonds Dresden eV association and the Inner Wheel Club Dresden. “It would be our goal to do such projects much more often at other schools,” says Petra Hanisch, who runs a ballet school in Striesen with “Tanzraum Dresden”.
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The fact that she can only teach at the “Dinglingerschule” support center this year has to do with tight finances. “We are already working for fee rates that are at the lowest limit,” says the dance teacher. The school management of the support center is very committed to a variety of all-day offers and regularly applies for funds and donations, as the headmistress Ulrike Giesecke explains.
“We were shut down by Corona”
It all started eleven years ago with the Dresden Music Festival’s dance project “Let’s dance! The Firebird ”, which 120 children and young people – including students from the Dinglingerschule – performed to great cheers in the exhibition hall. Performances are hardly possible in times of Corona, Petra Hanisch and Nicolle Cassel are happy to be able to come to school at all.
“I taught my ballet students via video conference, that wasn’t a major problem. But I lost the schools ”, regrets Petra Hanisch. She was not allowed in as an external person, regardless of whether she had been tested or not. “That was what the Corona Protection Ordinance said. We were shut down by Corona. All fees were canceled, we no longer existed. “
“The project strengthens the community”
The dance project could change lives. Self-awareness, feeling your own body, feeling a rhythm, learning to breathe – out of the classic forms, into new content. “We convey the awareness that everyone in the group is important, that everyone makes their contribution,” says Nicolle Cassel.
“The project strengthens the community,” confirms Josephine Leuschner, “we have had a lot of movement in the class over the past few weeks. Here the children were able to get to know each other and build trust in one another. “Cooperation and communication were important elements on which they can now build, according to the pedagogue. It was exciting, says Nicolle Cassel, to develop a structured group out of an anthill in which each individual had a fixed place and a task. “Did you like it?” She asks the children, the hall walls shake when they answer.
“We can only plan from year to year”
How could it be possible to bring the dance and singing project to many schools? “We need project management,” says Petra Hanisch, “the scene is fragmented. That has to be brought together. ”In the state capital there are so many funding pots for educational offers that funds for your project must also be found. “We can only plan from year to year. It would be nicer if we had a long-term secured budget. “
Torsten Schulze, City Councilor of the Greens, wants to stand up for the ballet teacher and the opera and concert singer. “For some time now, I’ve been trying to get the city on board for long-term financing. Unfortunately unsuccessful so far, ”explains the city council, who does not want to give up hope. “Corona in particular has shown how important such projects are. We should install and finance them permanently, ”said Schulze.
By Thomas Baumann-Hartwig
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