{"id":240,"date":"2017-12-29T16:10:07","date_gmt":"2017-12-29T21:10:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/?p=240"},"modified":"2025-11-19T14:51:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T19:51:00","slug":"writing-dance-leap-faith-lena-roy-westchester-regional-manager","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/writing-dance-leap-faith-lena-roy-westchester-regional-manager\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing & Dance: A Leap of Faith by L\u00e9na Roy, Westchester Regional Manager"},"content":{"rendered":"

A student of mine spontaneously leapt up and started moving to a peer\u2019s piece of poetry during a summer camp workshop this past summer. This inspired a whole session of interpretive dance to poetry. Right away I thought of my daughter\u2019s dance company, the <\/span>Isadora Duncan Youth Ensemble<\/span><\/a>, directed by the innovative Carrie Tron. I visited Carrie that week at the studio and shared my excitement and delight. Her response? \u201dLet\u2019s collaborate!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

We decided that the Isadora Duncan Youth Ensemble would be a part of Writopia\u2019s December Reading at the Katonah Library, and that I would pick three poems from three different Writopians to share with her, so that her students would have a chance to do their own original choreography. The IDYE is comprised of both kids and teens, thirteen girls ranging in age from 7-18. The dancing is about clearing away inhibitions and internal conflict so that the dancers can authentically respond to the music and to each other. It is about being true to yourself. Interpretive or improvisational dance is much like what we do in Writopia Lab to excavate the rich, interesting and varied thoughts of our students. <\/span><\/p>\n

Neither Carrie or myself were quite sure how this was going to work, but part of the creative process is being able to take that leap of faith into the unknown\u2014whether it is on the blank page or an empty stage\u2014and the result was nothing short of astounding. Two of the poems, \u201cBumblebees\u201d by Kaley Mamo and \u201cMood Indigo\u201d by Sarah Senese, were choreographed by the young dancers themselves, while the last piece (\u201cThe World of Apparition\u201d by Sophie Nadel) was directed by Carrie Tron and done to an existing Duncan choreography. The poets and I came to one rehearsal so that they could practice the reading and pacing, and Carrie and I both wanted them as readers to be part of the dance themselves, on stage <\/span>with<\/span><\/i> the dancers rather than behind a podium, a true marrying of two different creative disciplines. Sophie and Kaley both said that they \u201cwant all of their poetry interpreted by dancers,\u201d and Sarah, who is a dancer herself, wasn\u2019t sure how it was going to manifest, but found the finished pieces to be profound.<\/span><\/p>\n

So of course this past reading I was moved by the incredible expansion of what creativity can be and how important it is for all of us — kids and parents alike — to tap into this. Why do so many parents think of themselves as uncreative? Could it be that we are stuck in a story where we tell ourselves that we have so many responsibilities demanding our attention (does anybody else want to stab their eyes out dealing with the family schedule?) there doesn\u2019t seem to be any room for creative personal growth?<\/span><\/p>\n

But that\u2019s just it\u2014 not only is there room, but we can change the false stories we tell about ourselves. It is impossible to not be creative — we do so in the way we express ourselves, the way we dress and interact — and yet \u201ccreativity\u201d still feels like this amorphous thing we don\u2019t have time for. <\/span><\/p>\n

We must take a lesson from our children and learn to engage in the world, continue to develop our creative and empathic responses, and to remember we can still lead by example. The joy of creative expression has always been within our grasp- we just need to take that leap of faith into the unknown.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Lena<\/span><\/p>\n

L\u00e9na began teaching Writopia Lab workshops in Manhattan in 2009, then went on to bring the program to New York City’s northern suburbs in 2010. L\u00e9na is the author of the YA novel,\u00a0Edges, published by FSG. She co-authored\u00a0Becoming Madeleine, a Biography of the Author of A Wrinkle in Time by Her Granddaughters, coming out in February 2018. She co-edited the award-winning Girls Write Now anthology,\u00a0First Lines. Her writing was featured in the essay collection for middle school kids and their teachers:\u00a0Breakfast on Mars and 37 Other Essays to Devour: Your Favorite Authors Take on the Dreaded Essay Assignment. From 2014 to present, L\u00e9na has been recognized by the Scholastic Awards “as an outstanding educator whose dedication, commitment, and guidance are represented by student work selected for national honors.” L\u00e9na earned her BA from Barnard, studying English and Italian literature, and her MA in Drama Therapy from NYU. Mentoring has long been the connective tissue in L\u00e9na’s life, whether through her work with at-risk adolescents in Utah, California, and New York; or through her own writing discipline, as fostered by her late grandmother, author Madeleine L’Engle. It was her grandmother who taught L\u00e9na to transform the solitary nature of writing into a sacred sense of community, where her art and the art of others can flourish. You can visit L\u00e9na at\u00a0www.lenaroybooks.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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