Singing with the Eco Council

Johnstown Eco Council Logo Layout 

It was great to go into Johnstown Primary school to work with the Eco Council in preparation for my Fusion Inspire film shoot with them up at the Wind Farm. Big thank you to Mrs Starkey the Head.
 

The Eco Council are made up of representatives from each class in each year and there are 23  children in total. They have worked together and already received a Gold Award for their environmental work/Campaign and are currently working towards their Platinum  Eco Award.

Johnstown Eco Council

They have decided to use the arts experience of being consultants to my production as a contribution towards their award.

I really like that. How amazing to think that by them coming to help me on my production, as community consultants helping to bring my creative vision to reality, it will be a reciprocal experience that helps towards their Eco Platinum Award. That sits very well with me indeed.

It is always a joy to go into Johnstown Primary. The children were very excited because they have worked with me on large scale Community Arts Projects in the past, but this production is very different! This is not me supporting them to realise their own creative vision, this is them supporting me to reach mine.

I told them (in my usual animated way) about the outline story board of Dai and his ‘Quest of The Dragon Tree’ up until he gets to their part of the journey: Dance of the Ribbons.

I showed them a DVD of The Story Telling Event where the Dance of the Ribbons had first grown with the children in The National Botanic Garden of Wales. They were very excited indeed.

I then played them the Dance of the Ribbons Song on guitar. I had printed out little cheat sheets with the lyrics on and pretty soon they were not only joining in but singing the whole song without me! What’s more they LOVED it!

Now, this was a very moving experience for me.  I have quite literally written hundreds of songs with children supporting them to write them, but I can’t recall a time where a group of children have learnt one of my songs, written by me! It made me glow. WOW! This could well be a career idea for the future me thinks! Writing children’s songs and then touring them, teaching them to children. I got a bit lost in the whole idea of it. Imagine if I wrote a song that children loved through the ages and it was still being hummed in 100’s of years time...

Fiona Winter: Dance of the Ribbons

 

So, the film shoot is all set up and ready now for the end of June. I do still need to double check a few things around the other artists availability! Heather Summers is currently in Germany and Fiona Winter is touring Canada! In fact, Fiona emailed only yesterday to say she had found some fabulous ribbon sticks over there! How trans-cultural  is that!