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Arts & Communication Using multiple languages within an improvised fairytale

2.3. The session returned from being away from the country throughout the

The authors reviewed a session completed in July 2023 pandemic years. They had lived in a region that had been
that aimed to communicate about and create metaphors seriously impacted by COVID-19 before they returned to
after the social and political determination that the crisis New Zealand. Finally, a woman who lived in the largest
was essentially over, and most restrictions had been lifted. city in New Zealand and had been through many social
The members of this session began by discussing their disruptions because of significant lockdowns reported that
individual experiences of the changes as the immediate she was experiencing a new sense of freedom.
consequences of the health crisis had reduced. There were 2.4. The initial improvisation
seven participants: two from China, two from Canada, and
three from New Zealand. Two of the authors (SH & ECK) The initial dance and music improvisation followed the
had recently relocated from Guam to their home in New sharing of experiences. The scene was set up this way to
Zealand. They had been unable to return for several begin co-creating metaphors about the social-emotional
months due to the previous travel restrictions. The session climate that was emerging using arts expression without
took place on Zoom and followed a similar structure to employing verbal analysis. The musician joined with
previous meetings. improvised voice and piano, while another person added
single verbal images for each dance episode. The leader
The session began with each member of the group described the episode as a communication of the emotional
offering a verbal description of the social-emotional aspects we had all experienced during the last few years
experiences that were important to them in their part and how this experience might have changed following the
of the world after their local governments had reduced lifting of health-related restrictions.
pandemic-related health restrictions. The group leader then
set up a dance and music improvision structure with a trio The first dancer began by moving onto the floor and
organized so that each dancer would be influenced by the then came to stand tightly against the wall. She then rolled
previous dance/music episodes. The watchers responded to a final position, her face against the wall and her back to
to this improvisation with spontaneous art and poetry to the camera, taking her focus out of the space in the room
extend the metaphors with their active imagination. The and away from the group. The second dancer continued
group also shared their expressions and reflections. The by slowly moving in front of her window where she then
leader then set up a fairytale as a summary of the verbal began a series of stretching her arms and legs into the space
discussion and arts-based metaphors that emerged in the and moving with more flow and freedom of movement. The
session. The expectation was that the fairytale would have final dancer moved with more expansion into space and
the creative challenge of bringing the diverse topics from developed more reaching away from her body in a relaxed
the session together. The group offered verbal reflections manner. The movement transitions led to an expression of
on their experiences as the session concluded. openness. The musician offered song and piano responses
to the dance.
During the initial verbal report part of the session, two
members reported on how uncontrolled large wildfires had Figures 1-3 show important moments from each
been impacting their country. The smoke had become so dance, summarizing a progression from facing away to
extreme that masks were again required when going outside. opening and facing toward the group. Figure 4 shows the
These members said that as the health crisis lessened, a
new global crisis related to climate change was beginning
to again have social impacts. Both participants from China
told of how they and all their friends, colleagues, and family
had become ill with COVID-19 after their government had
suspended the social restrictions in that country. Some
had become ill multiple times. This was a meaningful
change from the periods when the lockdowns, masking,
and testing were in place. Two of the members from New
Zealand reported how surprised they were by the social
conflicts and isolation that had developed from the anti-
masking and anti-vax protests in their community. They
said that they felt socially rejected and disappointed that
some of their previous friends had refused to get close to
them because of their positive vaccine status after they had Figure 1. The first dancer of the trio

Volume 2 Issue 2 (2024) 7 doi: 10.36922/ac.2079