I have just spent a very enjoyable hour watching a film made by our wonderful music teacher, Ms Bechara, of the Key Stage 1 entrants in BCB’s Got Talent. This is always a highlight in school as we watch our students take the stage and show us something special, something different and often something magical. Obviously this year it has been somewhat different, using the magic of IT rather than the magic of the theatre to exhibit their talents, nonetheless, the effort and dedication can be clearly seen and the emotion I felt watching them was one of inspiration and joy.
- The Royal Ballet performs The Flames of Paris at The Royal Opera House, London. Picture: Getty
All forms or art bring us hope, school performances, as well as professional performances, underline the importance of community, that we are here together, sharing a moment, feeling united. Art reminds us of the beauty and meaning of life and what it means to be human.
Art can help process any negative emotions, it can help us channel our anger at a situation and help us to express or indeed understand things that are difficult. This poem is an excerpt from the poem ‘To bless the space between us’ by John O’Donoghue (2008) it encourages us to take a moment, to pause and to remember that good things will come again.
This is the time to be slow,
Lie low to the wall
Until the bitter weather passes.
Try, as best you can, not to let
The wire brush of doubt
Scrape from your heart
All sense of yourself
And your hesitant light.
If you remain generous,
Time will come good;
And you will find your feet
Again on fresh pastures of promise,
Where the air will be kind
And blushed with beginning.
As we settle into our new way of life, we may miss the visits to the theatre, the live music shows and the galleries, we may find ourselves listening to more music at home, streaming performances and even creating our own art. I have seen a huge rise in pictures on social media of how people are bringing art back into their lives. Art forms that may have been inaccessible to some are now accessible to all, The Royal Opera House in London is streaming free ballet and opera https://www.classicfm.com/music-news/coronavirus/royal-opera-house-launches-online-ballet-opera/ The National Theatre is showing world class theatre on line - https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/nt-at-home and even art galleries all over the world can be freely visited - https://www.galleriesnow.net/exhibitions/worldwide/
This enforced isolation can become a special time, we can take this time to develop the parts of us that have laid hidden and forgotten. A quick Google search will provide you with so many ideas and ‘how to’ guides to explore and develop skills that may, in more normal times, lay undiscovered. Our children have already set the creativity and ingenuity bar very high! We have been running Science and STEAM competitions, cooking competitions, extra art classes as well as our fabulous talent competitions.
So, as I have said so many times before, be led by your children, unleash your creativity - let the magic into your world.
