3. “Who am I today?”: DMT inspired activities to enhance diversity and acceptance.
Age Range or Target Group| This workshop is appropriate for all age groups, it is recommended however that all participants in one workshop are at similar developmental stages. In regard to target group, as the projects depicts, both EU citizens and immigrants/refuges/asylum seekers can participate in the workshop. The workshop is open to people from any socio-economic background.
Number of participants| 10-15 participants (If the workshop is happening with more than 15 participants, maybe you should give some more time for each exercise and maybe you will need the help of another facilitator).
Duration|45m- 60m
General Aim- Objectives| The general aim of the workshop is to provide space for the participants to explore different aspects of themselves using their creativity and imagination. During the activities, participants will move and express themselves freely under the umbrella of role-playing and movement, in a safe environment. Beyond the creation of characters, this workshop also emphasises repetition and rhythm that can act as neutralisers for emotions and negative thoughts. During the debriefing session participants can openly share thoughts and emotions they experienced during the workshop or any connections they have made with their daily lives.
Key Words & Phrases| movement; characters; diversity; interaction;imagination; role-playing
Instructions (Step by Step Process)|
A. Greeting and Introduction to the workshop (5-10 minutes)
B. Warm-up (10-15 minutes)
B1. Name and movement: Participants come in a circle. Each participant is asked to pronounce their name accompanied with a movement, any movement they want. Then the whole group repeats the name and the movement. Then move to the next participant. For the second round, the facilitator gives an open-end sentence or question to the participants and each participant is responding to it, accompanying their answer with a movement (i.e. “If I was an animal, I would be a…”, “My biggest joy is…, “What is your favorite color?” etc.). Each participant, per turn, completes the sentence or answers the question and then the whole group repeats the answer and the movement. Then move to the next participant.
group repeats the answer and the movement. Then move to the next participant.
B2. A participant takes an item of clothing or any other object from the room and wears/uses it, then passes it to another group member, who, in turn, passes it to a third and so on: the exercise is to continuously change the function of the object.
C. Main part (30-45 minutes)
C1. The participants are asked to use the different clothes, items, props that exist in the room and dress in any way they want. When everyone is ready, they are asked to go then start behaving and moving accordingly to how they are dressedand how that makes them move/feel. They are guided to create a character out of it and start moving as this character would be moving if they existed. After exploring the concept and while keep moving, the participants are asked to find a movement that they performed and draw their attention and try to stick with it. They are asked to perform it in various speeds, directions, levels, rhythms ways etc. They are asked to think of what this movement can mean for the character they are impersonating and then to find a counter-movement that will capture something oppositional to the previous movement, to the previous character. Try to explore the counter movement and see where it takes them. When they have sufficiently explored their movements, they are slowly guided to stop moving.
C2. They then come into a circle and each person at a time goes in the middle of a circle to behave according to their characters. When everyone had their turns, they can repeat one more time but this time, two people can come in the circle and start moving. It can be two any people, no need to stick to a specificsuccession. They can interact with the other character and exchange with them. Then, they can open the circle, and everyone start moving and dancing in their costumes/characters interacting with other characters and exchanging with them. During this process, the facilitator can play a variety of music coming from different cultures, of different moods etc.
D. Closure/Calm down (10-15 minutes)
D1. The group takes a couple of seconds to come to rest and then everyone comes together in a circle. All together they synchronise their breaths and they try to deepen them every time they breath. They then bend to the floor and relax the head. Stay there a couple of seconds; swing around if you wish. Then they slowly unroll their backs and come to a standing position. They take a couple of final breaths together.
D2. Debriefing – Suggested questions for initiating the debriefing section of the workshop: How did you feel during the workshop? Was there anything that made you feel discomfort or extremely comfortable? How did it felt to create a character and to behave as someone else? Was it really the character you created someone else? Can you think of any similarities between you and your character? How was it when you interacted with other characters? What was the most enjoyable moment for you? Can you relate any of your feelings stemming from the workshop with your daily life?
Desirable Outcomes and Competences| Desirably, the workshop will work onimagination and creativity skills of the participants and it will help them become more familiar with their emotional worlds. Asking them to impersonate characters beyond themselves, has a twofold action. It helps participants to explore the diversity both within and outside of themselves. In its totality, the workshop helps participants gain a feeling of relief and expression. All these, help construct people who are open to diversity, respectful and with better communication skills and better interpersonal relations. Eventually, this also influences levels of self-esteem and confidence.
Materials| Facilitator can arrange for items (clothing; bijou; daily objects etc) to exist in the room for the participants to use.
Resources|
Dance Movement Therapy -Video for trainers (Art Made Man Integrated Methodology), part one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nlp6GBdDc-o
Schaefer, C. E. (Ed.). (2003). Play therapy with adults. John Wiley & Sons.
Media and Techniques| The workshop was based on theory of Intergroup Contact, online videos about DMT techniques, articles and books about DMTand a book on play therapy.
Tips for the educator| Please refer to the general tips for the educator.
Questions for Evaluation|
- How did you find the activities of the workshop?
- Are there any suggestions/comments/questions you would like to make?