Shalom!
Greetings from the Israel Minds In Motion residency team! After a 10 hour flight, Brett and I arrived in Israel and were met with great enthusiasm at Beit Yizhak Elementary school. We've already had 2 full days of teaching and are very excited with the energy and talent of the students.
Our day begins with a walk to school- I am 10 minutes away and Brett literally crosses the street. The weather is warm here and even though it is wintertime, there are fresh fruits on the trees and roses in full bloom. We teach 3 classes each of 4th graders, with around 30 students in each, then a Team XL2 class of 5th graders, and then, every other day, we teach one combined class of all 100 5th graders from last year.
Our hosts take us to dinner, show us around the area, and include us in cultural activities. Tonight we went to a special celebration of Tu B'Shevat which brought together students from all the surrounding elementary schools for dancing and singing. We are looking forward to holding a summer ballet school audition/ master class tomorrow at the local ballet school. I'll update again soon!
- Katherine
Minds In Motion is a Richmond Ballet's year-long program that teaches fourth-grade students discipline, dedication and self-awareness by leading them through a series of choreographic movements which must be memorized and expanded upon in each class session. Public and private school children in Richmond and several satellite locations participate in the program. Brett Bonda and Katherine Smothers return to Israel for the second year in a row to teach a residency program in Richmond's sister city Emek Hefer.
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