TESTIMONIALS - Multicultural Dance | Dance In schools in the South East. Norfolk, Suffolk

Here are some recent evaluations

Back to School 2024 to enjoy 25 Multicultural dance, RE & well-being workshops for schools. #edutwitter

Recent Testimonial: Jan 2024

‘ Huge thank you for the wonderful day the children had. You make it so special for them with the dance, costumes, scarves and fun ! They loved learning about dance in Hinduism, and linking it with what they had learned in class. We had lovely feedback from parents saying how the children were brimming with telling them everything, and showing their dance moves ! Thank you, I will of course be spreading the word about your workshops !‘

Mrs Becky Layfield : Robert Arkenstall School Haddenham Cambs

Wholeheartedly endorse Lorraine at MultiDance. The way she weaves her magic of culture, history, literature & art through the power of dance & music is amazing ‘

Jane Ryder FCCT Associate Arts Lead – Active Learning Trust – Arts & Culture Lead Sidegate Primary School Suffolk Summer 2023

2 return residential dance days at Springfield Primary Essex ‘ Everyone loves your visits to us ‘ Jackie Pick Headteacher

Jane Ryder Sidegate Primary School Ipswich Suffolk. April 2022

Indian Dance reflections:

‘It was simply amazing – such positive comments from staff & pupils- highly recommend schools invite Lorraine to share faith & cultures through dance. An incredible workshop delivered with clarity, peace and gentleness ‘

Becky Layfield Robert Arkenstall Primary School Cambs

Indian Dance reflections March 2022

‘ We loved welcoming you to school. The children and staff all loved the sessions…you were so good with the children, it was lovely to see them sharing their knowledge about Hinduism, & enjoying being so creative. I’ve already spread the word about how great your sessions are !

Sarah McDade St Francis of Assisi School Norwich Feb 2023

New workshop : Ibn Battuta Moroccan Explorer, travelled to Middle East, Asia, Africa, China & India workshop includes Moroccan Berber dance, costumes & musical instruments.

‘Super creative morning’

Clare Filby Ashill Primary School Norfolk March 2022

Ancient Egyptian dance, music & history

‘Thank you Lorraine, the children really enjoyed the session, we had a very tranquil maths lesson afterwards, as they were still feeling the vibes. We look forward to seeing you in June for Ancient Greeks.’

Hayley Barnes Swanton Morley school Norfolk March 2022

Chinese New Year is the year of the Tiger

‘Wasn’t it great, thank you for a lovely morning. I’ll be in touch about next year”

Hannah O’ Donnell Taverham Junior school Feb 2022

Ancient Greek dance, music & myths #Theseus #Labyrinth #Ariadne‘ Thank you so much for today. The children & teachers all loved it’

Clare Hart Nightingale Infant & Nursery School Norwich Feb 22

Jolly Morris handkerchief dance celebrating #Englishfolkdance #QueensPlatinumJubilee

‘Thank you for today, the staff & children absolutely loved it.

They can back buzzing, chatting about how good it was. Please can we do something like this again for Sports week’

Janet Marshall previous Head of Schools & Family Learning Norwich Cathedral

‘We have worked with Lorraine for several years now. Her workshops are always engaging, fun, professional planned & delivered, feedback from the teachers is always excellent. She can adapt to all ages/key stages and SEND requirements. She is able to link in with other curriculum areas, especially RE.’

North Featherstone Junior & Infant school West Yorkshire Indian dance reflections.

‘ The children & staff thoroughly enjoyed the sessions. It has definitely inspired them & the teachers who learned a lot. Thank you Miss Jagger

Chantry Primary Academy Luton Beds Australian Aboriginal dance & culture. ‘ it was fantastic as always, Lorraine you are amazing with the children, we would love you to stay longer. See you next year ‘ Mrs Bianchi.

Yorkswood Primary School Solihull ‘ Brilliant ! As ever. Lorraine has been coming here for several years for our ‘Ola Mexio ‘ day, which includes Mayan dance & culture, which they explored in a creative & kinesthetic way. This day starts off the topic leading to a show for the parents ‘ Mrs Webb & Mr Hales

Westover Green Primary School Somerset ‘ A massive thank you for our Maori Haka dance workshop, which was greatly enjoyed by all. The morning was informative & eye- opening to the Maori culture. The dancing was superb and gave the children opportunity to express themselves thoughtfully & creatively, I hope we get to work with you in the future’ Mr Boucher Somerset

Aldeburgh Primary School Suffolk Indian dance reflections ‘ An outstanding dance workshop that engaged even the most sceptical, in a magical way, it exceeded my expectations Thank you Mrs Giddings

Tacolneston & Morley Primary School Samba Carnival dances & Native American dances ‘ Thank you so much for your input. The children really loved it & came out buzzing. The high pace if your input meant that they acheived a lot in a short space of time, and were really proud of their work. The children loved the story telling aspect. I hope we get to work with you again. Mrs O’Dell

Great Dunmow Primary School Essex. The children & staff all had a wonderful time ! Helen Andrews Drama

Many thanks for your wonderful workshops – again! The children really enjoyed the session, ‘that was soooo much fun’, they said as we headed back to the classroom. They really embraced the spiritual side of the nature of Indian Dancing, and your visual story telling really helped them understand this side of things

Wonderful to see the pupils absolutely shine in a lesson we rarely experience. Lorraine was excellent at keeping the children engaged. One of the best dance lessons I’ve seen taught.’ Philippa Lidstone-Scott, Nth Cockerington Sch Lincs

Schools visited thus far :Thank you for giving the children such an enjoyable and informative experience. They were buzzing, and want all lessons to be like that ! Mrs Amey, East Wold Primary, Lincs #makelearningfun #Mexico #Mayadance #childrenarenaturallycreative

Mile Cross Primary Norwich School Dances of Australian Aboriginals, super work by talented creative pupils Thank you so much for today. We all had a brilliant time and the children loved it!’ Cathy Loebig

‘an enormous thank you for today. The feedback from children and staff has been overwhelmingly positive. You have truly inspired our year 4s and it was wonderful to see them at the end of the day buzzing with excitement over everything they had experienced. Mr Heath Dunmow St Mary’s School Essex

Feb 2018 ‘the children were excited, engaged, & inspired by the dynamic content & delivery’ Swanton Abbott Primary School, Norfolk. Chinese Dragon dances

& dances of African continent.

Feb 2018 Ancient Egyptian dance & History workshop Year 3 had a brilliant time, thank you for coming! Colman Junior School

Feb 2018 Taverham Hall Norwich As part of their Ancient Egypt topic, Year 3 welcomed Lorraine Theobald from Multicultural Dance to show them how the Ancient Egyptians used to dance.

As music was played, pupils were encouraged to listen carefully and imagine themselves gliding effortlessly along the river Nile on a boat, under the heat of the Egyptian sun. Pupils were given the opportunity to play instruments, dress in traditional Egyptian style and even to try to balance a walking stick on their head, all elements of Egyptian dance.

The pupils were shown a number of Ancient Egyptian dance steps including ‘hip drops’, ‘Hathor kicks’, ‘shoulder shimmys’, and a very energetic move called ‘shimmering heat’!

The staff and pupils all really enjoyed the experience and it will certainly be a memorable morning of the year.

North Denes Primary school Gt Yarmouth

Dances and culture of the Mayans

Biblical Lands & Times dance & Music workshops held at Norwich Cathedral and in schools

Testimonial by John Semmens Old Catton C of E Junior School Norwich

The children enjoyed it immensely and found the element of community, explored by the whole group dances, to be great fun. The groups are not particularly confident dancers nor are they all that happy to work together holding hands but this was encouraged from the start in a positive way and everyone was made to feel a part of this community dance – even the teachers.

The use of music to link to stories told in other cultures was an effective way to bring in the concept of storytelling and the use of the scarves as ‘be all’ prop meant that the children had tremendous freedom of expression when telling their own stories. They greatly enjoyed this, as seen in the two attached poems.

Thank you the children really enjoyed their day, it helped show them the different cultures and traditions, and what fun they can be Lesley McDonald Hazelmere Infants Colchester

Birkwood Primary School Cudworth Barnsley Australian Aboriginal dances 3 days of delightful dancing with some very enthusiastic, creative and courteous children and helpful staff, Thanks to Alex Betts and Mrs Julie Allen MBE

Australia Aboriginal dances & History

The three days you spent with us for our Australia Week were very memorable. The children loved it and they were so enthusiastic during your sessions. Your creativity and love for dance shines through and inspires all children to have a go and most importantly have fun! Thank you again.

Alex Betts Birkwood Primary School Cudworth Barnsley

Hollelsey Primary School teaching British Morris dance aka Lolly Morris

Dear Lorraine,

Thank you so much for coming in to work with us today. I think the children thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The Morris workshop was brilliant- lots of fun had by all!
Many thanks,
Joanna

June 2017

Sir Thomas Mills High School Indian dance reflections with aspects of Hinduism

‘a massive thank you for running such great sessions last week at the Multicultural Day. The students got so much out of each of the workshops and are still talking about the day now!

Thank you so much again. Kind regards, Helen Lambert

Ghost Hill Primary School teaching Indian dance reflections, 3 sweet sessions thank you to Sam Church all staff and Mrs Garret Headteacher

Taverham School, Norwich Norfolk

Lorraine Theobald, our instructor for the morning, arrived with an absolute passion for her subject and this engaged the children straight away. She has spent 26 years working with children through the medium of dance and music, allowing them to immerse themselves in the culture of many different countries around the world. Lorraine talked the children through the history of Egyptian dance and the Gods who were known for their love of it. In addition, she spoke about the instruments, what they were made from and also their names. We even spoke a little Arabic to each other! Year 3 were amazing and some hidden dance talents were certainly revealed. We learnt ten different dance moves from traditional Egyptian dance and then performed a group dance, complete with clothing and music typical at that time.Lorraine’s company, Multicultural Dance was winner of the prestigious Dr Frank Bates Dance & Musical Theatre Award as part of the 2016 Norfolk Arts Awards. She commented very positively on the children’s behavior and engagement. Mrs Sarah Howe, Miss Jemma Holmes and Mr Adam Sayer were extremely proud of the way in which the children embraced this wonderful opportunity and were thoroughly impressed with the dancing that they saw. The morning was educational as well as great fun.