Education and Outreach Programme
Manasamitra’s work involves delivering educational programme of workshops and classes in schools throughout the region and beyond. In addition to this work the company has also established a strong track record of delivering community based activities designed to benefit the general public particularly in areas identified as requiring additional social support. All activities are targeted at and enjoyed by people of all ages, races and backgrounds.
Each session is tailored to the specific needs and requirements of each client. The school workshops are designed in consultation with teachers or group leaders and are always innovative, educational and above all, fun.
Our workshops revolve around dance, yoga, the visual arts, and music of the classical, folk and Bollywood styles and include creative drama using mime techniques. We also provide attendees with a glimpse into the Indian lifestyle in an interactive manner. Our storytelling and spoken word sessions are hugely rewarding creative experiences. We can provide either short sessions or longer term residencies. We regularly combine all three art forms to further enrich the Indian experience, this three pronged approach also adds to attaining key stage skills.
We are also able to provide craft workshops, bringing the craftwork of rural south India to communities and schools. We have workshops demonstrating fabric painting and glass painting and have received excellent feedback from each session. We work closely with visual artists to promote all forms of craftwork for various parts of the world.
The following are a glimpse of the some of the work that we have done and some workshops that we can offer.
Creative Movement
Our creative movement workshops explore a vocabulary of nonverbal forms of expressive gestures and precise movement patterns as well as verbal forms of communication to express different feelings and emotions.
Each workshop utilizes the body through movement as an innovative tool to inspire, enquire, acquire. The art form itself can serve multiple purposes; to communicate (expressive movement), to heal (therapeutic movement), to become fit (aerobic movement), to entertain (creative movement). As an educational tool, participants learn many concepts such as balance, coordination, rhythm, and it is also an important tool for developing self-esteem and body awareness.
The workshops explore how children can develop and enhance their cognitive, artistic, social and kinesthetic development. The intention is to integrate aesthetic and kinesthetic learning so a child learns movement techniques as an alternative language with which he or she can communicate. The workshops also act as a creative outlet through which experiences and feeling can be expressed through poems and word play.
The project aims to build confidence in participants and help them to have a colourful and healthy life by practicing and enhancing creative ways to communicate and express themselves verbally and nonverbally.
Yoga
The yoga sessions incorporate movement to improve the mental and physical wellbeing of a person. The sessions focus on the connection between the mind and body to promote health and wellbeing. Physically, the sessions can provide exercise, improve mobility and muscle coordination, and reduce muscle tension. Through specific movements people can identify and express their innermost emotions, bringing those feelings to the surface and therefore emotionally, the sessions improve self-awareness and self-confidence, and is an outlet for communicating feelings.
Folk Theatre
Students at Notre Dame High School in Sheffield were transported into the world of mime, gestures and gesticulation as part of their Indian folk theatre workshop. Stories from Indian mythology were used to recreate a dance/drama in which participants enhanced not only their theatre skills but also their knowledge of the rich Indian culture.
’Sura-vara-vanditha’ was a similar, very successful project involving four primary schools, carried out in Kirklees. Moorend CoE, Birkenshaw CoE, Hyrstmount CoE,Batly Parish CoE This project was funded by the Arts Council England and you can see a short video of the project on the following link.
Indian dance: Classical and Bollywood
Tradition mixed with contemporary is the theme of various Indian dance workshops held at various schools throughout the UK extending from Scotland in the north to Plymouth in the south. As we have a variety of versatile artists, we are able to provide an exciting, vibrant mix of various dance styles as part of World Cultural Weeks at schools or simply a dance day.
Indian Music Projects
At Manasamitra, we believe that music is a direct link into creativity and all our Indian music workshops are imaginative, creative and interesting. Our music workshops include Indian instruments like Sitar, Tabla, Veena, Violin, Mridangam, Ghatam and vocals. We can also cater to any contemporary folk or Bollywood needs or perhaps budding composers wanting to compose their own pieces?
“Manasamitra’s practitioners were both expert artists as well as wonderful educators and I would recommend them to any schools.”
Nick McCann, Caistors Primary School, Lincolnshire
Storytelling
How do Indian children travel? What are schools like? What is a village in India like? These are some of the questions we answered at a 10 week project at St Wilfrid's in Sheffield, where we recreated a village using dance, music, fabric work, painting, creative writing and drama...
We are currently working on a project recreating an Indian wedding, festivals in India and urban living in India with various schools throughout Yorkshire.
Our younger participants enjoy lively, dramatic presentations of stories from Indian Mythology using dance hand gestures to denote animals, birds and kings and queens.
Visual Art
We have a large team of visual artists working on various kinds of projects in primary, secondary and special schools. We have created lovely banners and huge displays involving children, parents and teachers. We work with fabrics, paper, silks, glass, wood, paint and much more.
All the schools we have worked in have commented on our passion, drive and ability to involve the whole community.
Corporate Events
Manasamitra also delivers a range of motivational workshops to enhance teamwork and management skills within the corporate sector.
“I was very impressed with the advice and service provided by Manasamitra. The performance by the artist Anwesha since helped to give our event real impact and to raise our profile in the local area.”
Beth Simpson, Communications Officer, Sheffield Homes