Reading the body’s signals – how dance helps children set boundaries

In conversation with Jana and Nina and the dance and theatre educator Mara Atkins from the FELD Theatre for Young Audiences, Berlin

What is it like to feel secure in your own body? 12-year-old Jana* and 11-year-old Nina* talk about the project “My body belongs to me – closeness and disDance” in their after-school programme. The Berlin-based dance and theatre educator Mara Atkins explored the physical perception of boundaries with her participants through dance and drama teaching methods.

How did you find out about the project “My body belongs to me – closeness and disDance” and did you have any idea what sexualised violence meant?

Jana: Our teacher in the after-school group told us about it and said that she would also be there. I knew Mara from another project and that was why I was keen to take part.

Mara Atkins: It was important to us that there were two trusted adults so that we could deal with whatever experiences or feelings came up.

Nina: At first, I didn’t know that it was going to involve dance and movement. I thought we were just going to talk about it.

You did more than just talk during the project. Can you describe some of the exercises?

Nina: To start with, we spent five minutes writing down what was troubling us. We just weren’t supposed to put the pen down while we were writing.

Jana: It was cool not being told what to write, unlike at school, and to write whatever I wanted without thinking.

Nina: You don’t have to keep everything in your head if you write it down.

Mara Atkins: We called it “Writing in the blank”.

Jana: Another exercise was “Guiding someone through the room”. One person had their eyes closed, and the other held them by the shoulders and guided them. But first you had to ask, “Is it ok if I touch you?” The person who was leading the other one was not allowed to do anything to hurt them, like leading them into a wall, for example. The person who was being led had to trust them.

What did that feel like?

Nina: Being led was a bit strange and scary because you didn’t know where you were going. I felt happier when I was leading the other person.

Jana: Yes, you feel responsible because the other person trusts you. Another time, we all pretended that we were a puppet that anyone was allowed to move. That was exhausting and fun.

Nina: But it also felt strange and unfamiliar being able to move another person in a way that meant that I determined what they did.

Mara Atkins: The idea behind these and other exercises is not just to engage with a feeling or experience cognitively but also to feel it in your body. For example, someone comes towards me while we’re moving through the room. What does that feel like? Or, where in the room does my gut instinct tell me I feel safe here – whether that safe place is under a table or in a corner. It’s about constantly re-connecting with your own body and being able to use that information.

What did you find out about yourself and your body during the exercises?

Nina: I found out that I can’t scream out loud.

Mara Atkins: Your scream was hidden away, we had to look for it first but once we’d found it you became very loud. You have to practise saying “no” or “stop” and you need your body for that.

Nina: There was always music, so we were able to move in whatever way we wanted. That’s how I know that I can dance. Before, when I was at a birthday party, and we were going to play the “Freeze Dance”, for example, I always found it a bit embarrassing. Most of the other girls go to a dance school and are much better at it. But Mara taught me that I can just do it and that I don’t have to feel embarrassed about it.

Mara Atkins: Dance and theatre education is also always about keeping you moving so that thoughts and feelings can’t get stuck in your head when they come up.

Now I know what I can do when I feel threatened. I can call for help, join a group of other people or go into a shop. You can also shout “Fire!” and then more people will pay attention.

Jana*

The project was divided into a girls’ group and a boys’ group. Do you think that sexualised violence also affects boys and was it a good idea to have separate groups?

Jana: I wouldn’t say that it never happens to boys. It’s probably less likely but I can imagine for example an adult man touching a boy.

Nina: I myself felt more comfortable in the girls’ group than I would have in a mixed group. For example, there was a girl that told us something she didn’t want anyone else to know.

Jana: You wouldn’t have been able to tell that to a bigger group, either. It was terrible what happened to her. I couldn’t even imagine that there are actually people who would do something like that.

Mara Atkins: Based on other examples that we discussed and explored through practical activities, the question for the boys wasn’t just why people do this sort of thing but also why they are so often men? That was a difficult subject for them as adolescents whose bodies are perceived as male.

Can you think of any situations in everyday life where you don’t feel safe?

Nina: When I leave the house on my way to school, it takes me three minutes to get to the next corner. There’s never anyone else on the path except me. You walk past a park, and there are always drunk people there. That’s why I look over my shoulder five or six times to see if there’s anyone behind me. Once there was a drunk who was loudly banging the fence around the park while I was walking past. That scared me.

Jana: There’s a sports ground on my way to school, and there are always people there taking drugs. I don’t like walking past them. They behave in a weird way because the alcohol and the drugs do something to them. Sometimes some of them cross over to my side of the road and then I walk faster and try to join a group of other people.

What helps you feel safer now?

Jana: Now I know what I can do when I feel threatened. I can call for help, join a group of other people or go into a shop. You can also shout “Fire!” and then more people will pay attention. Some people are just not very nice, they don’t care when a child asks for help but if you shout “Fire!”, they’ll listen.

Nina: I’ve got more self-confidence. That’s important, for example, if someone comes up to me and wants to talk to me, and I don’t want to at that moment. Then you need the confidence to say, “I don’t want to, I want to be left alone”. Or another example, when my mum wants me to wear something that I don’t want to, maybe because I don’t like it, I’ve learnt that it’s up to me to decide and not her.

Mara Atkins: The message is: my body belongs to me. We’ve also discussed this with examples from everyday situations, for instance, you don’t always want a hug when you’re being put to bed at night. The way something makes you physically feel can be applied to potentially dangerous situations.

What kind of support would you like from adults?

Nina: When I’m in the wrong, when I’m arguing with an adult and I don’t know any better, then I’d like that person not to shout at me but to calmly explain why something isn’t working.

* All names have been changed.

Text and interview: Julia Göhring; Translation (english): Alex Emerson