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Arts & Communication Using multiple languages within an improvised fairytale

an awareness of the physically related elements of their the global pandemic, such as surges in cases and deaths,
immediate setting. The dance movement does not rely international and community conflicts, and extended
on a visual imitation of form and quality from a teacher isolation. These adaptions included using an online
or a tradition and thus does not establish a hierarchy for setting, involving participants from many countries,
determining which movements are performed. Gender and employing collaborative arts-based expression to
roles are not prescribed as in other more structured respond to the overwhelming changes brought on by the
dance forms. Often, dancers use similar movements and international spread of COVID-19. As the health crisis
complete each other’s movement impulses spontaneously. increased in scope, the structure and goals of using arts-
Qi dance can be performed as improvisation or using based expression also changed to address the personal
some set forms in performance. Merekina described her emotional situations, social disruption, and evolving
observation of how social attunement facilitates nonverbal political tensions that we experienced. 6
communication within cross-cultural settings.
1.3.1. Participants
All these projects used arts-based expressive activity
alongside verbal language tasks, such as teaching students In total, 41 people from twelve countries participated
outside of their primary language and culture, developing in the project. Participants came from Guam, China,
performance without a single language base, and developing USA, Italy, Switzerland, Australia, The Netherlands,
an understanding of situations that are too complex for UK, Vietnam, Germany, New Zealand, and Canada. The
verbal explanation. Although the project that used dance sessions were initially set up as an experimental exchange
improvisation addresses verbal language to a lesser extent, between colleagues in China and the USA/Guam, which
the review does describe how more structured pieces of Qi proved quite successful. We decided to invite colleagues
dance utilize cultural stories that have a verbal narrative from Europe, Australasia, and North America to join
within performances. when the pandemic spread in those regions, reflecting the
international nature of the crisis that emerged.
These expressive activities share several common
elements, including physically based improvisation and The initial participants were known to the authors, and
playful interaction. The authors report that this kind new participants were added as COVID-19 spread. As
of activity facilitates engagement, reduces anxiety, and new participants joined, they often asked if their friends
increases self-confidence among participants as they or colleagues could also join. All participants expressed a
actively co-create experiences together. In these projects, desire to take part and found intrinsic value in the arts-
there is less reliance on the use of a predetermined correct based activity and the open atmosphere of the sessions.
verbal template or expert-determined knowledge, and the Most participants were active in the creative arts or other
engagement is more self-initiated and less hierarchical. expressive therapies and had experience and interest in
The improvisations are also built on the surprises and arts-based improvisations, although some did not have
unexpected events within the action to generate creative this background. Participant age was variable, ranging
resolutions. Importantly, all these projects are developed from mid-twenties to mid-eighties, and they were a mix of
using non-verbal aspects of communication of the men and women. All participants spoke the main language
interactions as an important basis for developing joint of their country, with English, Mandarin, and Italian
understanding. The central goal of such dramatic and non- being the primary languages. Some of the participants
verbal improvisation is to expand the quality of personal were fluent or spoke another language in addition to their
involvement with communications, especially within small primary language. While several participants joined most
groups in which verbal exchanges are limited in some way. sessions and formed a core group, others participated in
fewer sessions. Some took a break for several months due
1.3. The project to life events and rejoined later. All participants reported
experiencing significant impacts from the pandemic.
The Creative Dialogue project began as an experiment and
maintained an open structure over the duration to address 1.3.2. The sessions
the unanticipated changes in the large-scale emotional
climate of this historical period marked by the global The groups followed a general process to allow metaphors
health crisis. We did not follow a set protocol that is typical to emerge for the arts-based improvisation that expressed
of research or mental health counseling intervention, and communicated individual experiences. Most of the
as we found that the ever-changing social-emotional discussion and organization of the activity occurred in
demands of the pandemic challenged our expectations. English, followed by translations as needed.
The groups remained flexible to adapt to several novel, The meetings began with each group member providing
unprecedented, and changing aspects of the situation of a verbal description of their personal experiences with

Volume 2 Issue 2 (2024) 4 doi: 10.36922/ac.2079