Dancing Words Blog

Poetry Series for Dance Classes: Night Garden

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Jill Randall

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Oh, I love the Berkeley Public Libraries. I especially love it when I find unfamiliar books on display that I can use in dance classes.

Last week they had "night books" on display. I took out Night Garden: Poems from the World of Dreams by Janet S. Wong (with illustrations by Julie Paschkis). It is a beautiful set of poems, and I love the order of the poems in the book. 

My teaching mind already goes to using this book with students in 4th, 5th, and 6th grades. I would encourage you to use all of the poems, in their order. I envision a set of beautiful solos for brave, young choreographers. This could turn into an elegant culminating performance at the end of your semester or session. 

The poems are of night, dreams, magic, and whimsy. One of the poems from the book:

Gently Down the Stream

Like one fast fish

I'm swimming free,

 

water washing

over me,

 

seeing clear

through eyes like glass,

 

following

a moonlight path,

 

one fast fish,

no breathing troubles,

 

followed by

a trail of bubbles,

 

swimming long, 

swimming lean,

 

swimming gently

down the stream.

 

The poems can be your starting point for movement. In terms of reciting the text, you could record each student reading his/her own poem. You, the teacher, could be the narrator of the poems. Or, students can switch off and read for another student.

I very much envision this project as a group of solos. 

Comments

2 responses to “Poetry Series for Dance Classes: Night Garden”

  1. janet wong Avatar
    janet wong

    I LOVE this post, Jill (and your whole fabulous blog). I’m so happy that the Berkeley Public Library put my book on display and that you discovered it! A bit of bad news, though: NIGHT GARDEN is out-of-print. Good news: it might come out in paperback next year! So, for your readers: if you can’t find this book anywhere now, check again in the spring. Or look for TWIST: Yoga Poems (also brilliantly illustrated by Julie Paschkis). Julie is a yoga fanatic and I wrote that book as a gift to her; she responded with the best paintings I have ever seen in a book.

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  2. Kerr Aradhya Avatar
    Kerr Aradhya

    Hi, Jill. This book sounds beautiful! I see that Janet Wong commented above. How great! The blog Little Namaste Yoga has a great post about the other book she mentions — TWIST — and how it might be used in a yoga class for children: http://littlenamasteyoga.com/Little_Namaste_Yoga/Blog/Entries/2012/5/29_Twist_by_Janet_S._Wong.html

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