Dramatic play for children – Ismini Slijper, Angeliki Sakellariou, Myrsini Tzavara

The journey of lost things
Dramatic play workshop for children 8–12 years old

The workshop “The Journey of Lost Things” is an interactive workshop with strong elements of theatrical play for 8–12-year-olds.
Using movement and associative thinking as a tool, we invite children to explore together the concept of loss (of things, loved ones and time), always through play and creation.
In the first part of the workshop there is a strong use of self, space and various objects. With these tools we try to approach loss as captured by a child’s mind (kinesthetic & with words).
Through dance movement, structured improvisation, elements of contact improvisation we negotiate the following: “How through children’s eyes loss is embodied and described. The loss of things, of people, of dreams, of childhood itself.”
In the second part, through storytelling, they create fictional stories that highlight various forms of loss. Children take on the role of explorers in order to solve mysteries and deal with loss from different perspectives.
Using drawing and associative thinking, they explore the concept of loss in more detail.
Finally, during the workshop we address the question “What have grown-ups lost?” and through this, children’s interviews, and artistic works (paintings, kinetic phrases) emerge.
The workshop is strongly linked to the corresponding performance “The Journey of Lost Things», a performance for all ages that deals with loss and brotherhood as complex concepts, but also experiences and questions.
Through the workshop the children gain tools for watching and understanding the show and we gain inspiration and material for our research: “How does a child’s mind, dance, move, think, reflect?”.

Ages: 8-12 years-old
Level: Open

Ismini Slijper

Born and raised in Amsterdam (1999), Ismini Slijper started dancing at the age of 8. She later studied contemporary dance at the Royal Conservatory in Antwerp, from which she graduated in 2020. Together with her fellow students she founded SIDEWARDS (www.sidewards.be), a collective that creates and supports dance productions and organizes cultural events. As part of SIDEWARDS, Ismeni co-created the dance performance “If you want, maybe not” (2021) and organized the festival “FountainFest: The Festival of Femxle Pleasure” (2022). She has worked as a dance teacher in her hometown, Amsterdam, at Het Amsterdams Lyceum (2021-2022). During the last 10 months she has been in Athens, where she has had the opportunity to work with Artogether, a dance company for people with and without disabilities, while co-created two of her own performance projects. The “journey of lost things” and “Co-Habitance”.

Angeliki Sakellariou

Born and raised on the small island of Syros, Angeliki Sakellariou has been dancing since the age of 6. She started with traditional Greek dance and did rhythmic gymnastics for 6 years. She continued as a student at the Akropoditi Dance and Performing Arts Center in 2013 and as a participant in the Festival from 2013-2023. From September 2020 she is a member of Artogether, an inclusive dance group based in Athens, coordinated by Katerina Gevetzi. She has participated in various workshops and loves improvisation and authentic movement. She is an occupational therapist, with trainings on Special Education & Training, Adult Education, and Basic Principles of Dance Therapy. During the last years through Erasmus+ KA2 projects she has been working on the creation of educational material for primary school on how to integrate Social-Emotional Learning in the school curriculum (REFLECT project, Compusel), as well as on mindfulness in movement and how it can be used to learn different skills. For the last year she has been co-creator of the ” The journey of lost things», which was first presented in October 2023 as part of the Artistic Residency at Akropoditi in Syros and the accompanying workshop (8-12 years old), which deals with loss through the perspective of children.

Myrsini Tzavara

Born and raised in Syros (2001), Myrsini Tzavarra started dancing at the Akropoditi Dance and Performing Arts Center at the age of 8. Since 2019 she has been studying Conservation of Antiquities and Works of Art in Athens, where she also attends various contemporary dance classes with different teachers.