Approaches to Creative Learning
In recent years, the development of emotional intelligence and communication skills through creative practice has become the major focus of Anita's work.
Anita aims to inspire and enthuse students by stimulating and encouraging imagination. Her technique is to use co-operative games, drama exercises and group building activities to develop communication skills, group cohesion and trust and then to encourage the participants to creatively explore their own reservoir of stories, life experiences and imagination using drama improvisation, devising and storytelling techniques.
Anita's aim is to create an emotionally 'safe' environment where real exploration and communication can take place. Confidence and self-esteem can be developed through active participation and, through using their own ideas and stories, children’s life experience can be validated.
Participants have the opportunity to explore other points of view and experiences, encouraging empathy and challenging preconceptions. They also have the opportunity to experiment with different strategies for dealing with difficult situations and the emotional terrain of change and transition.
Anita is particularly interested in site-specific work and in collaborating with artists from other disciplines as this often leads to the most exciting and multi-dimensional experience for the participants, with each aspect informing the other.
Creative Professional Biography
Anita’s main interest as an artist is in collaborating with communities and other artists and in combining and exploring different art forms.
In the 1980s, she was actively involved in the community arts movement and spent ten years working as a community drama worker and arts co-ordinator specialising in devised drama; directing and producing around 15 performances ranging from large scale community plays to small scale work with groups of offenders and work with people with disabilities. She also worked on celebratory events including carnivals and fire shows, community book projects, reminiscence work, youth arts projects and work with refugee communities.
In the early 1990s, Anita was inspired to train as a teacher and has held several teaching posts in London and Kent, working in schools, colleges and a secure unit for young offenders. She has delivered performing arts, drama, media, film studies and citizenship programmes and has been responsible for establishing a learning support unit which provided an emotional literacy and social skills programme. During her years as a teacher, she was able to develop many exciting collaborative projects with professional arts companies and individual artists. She has also gained an in-depth knowledge of the way schools and colleges operate which has positively informed her work as an artist in schools.
Anita’s other abiding interest is in Arabic dance and she is an experienced teacher and performer. Her performance group, 'Cosmic Shimmy', takes part in many local festivals and events and she regularly collaborates with other artists. Wherever possible, she tries to incorporate Arabic dance in her project work.