Sophia Marschall and Miah Lackie have been learning about the impact of discrimination including transphobia, racism and homophobia.
But not in regular classroom lessons – the 12-year-old Perth Academy pupils explored how victims are affected and what they can do to help through dance.
The S1 pupils are taking part in Scottish Ballet’s Safe to Be Me programme which teaches children and young people about diversity, equality and inclusion.
One routine Sophia and Miah learned is a take on Scottish Ballet’s Selkie, inspired by a poem by Rachel Plummer in which a transgender boy “takes girlness off like a seal skin”.
Sophia told us: “It was about a girl finding out she wants to be a boy, so she was taking off her skin because it didn’t fit right on her shoulders.”
She learned about sexuality and pronouns in primary school, she said, but this was the first time she had looked at the topics in more depth.
She said: “It’s been really effective, especially seeing the Selkie peeling off their skin.
“You can tell the whole story by dance, your facial expressions, stomping your feet when you’re angry.”
Miah said that as well as looking at the impact of discrimination, the group learned about being allies to those who discriminated against.
She said: “We know how to support people, how to take care.”
Scottish Ballet’s pilot at Perth Academy
The girls are part of a group of around 30 S1 pupils to take part over three weeks in a pilot by Scottish Ballet at Perth Academy.
Scottish Ballet is extending the project it started with Perth and Glasgow primary schools in 2018 to secondary schools.
Perth Academy’s participation has been funded for three years by The Gannochy Trust, and guidance teacher Emily Muldoon hopes larger groups of young people will benefit in future sessions.
While the themes covered are taught in personal and social education (PSE) classes, Emily says it helps to present them to pupils in a different, more interactive way.
“Some of the material the Scottish Ballet dancers brought, like showing the Selkie dance, helping them unpick the language used to narrate it, was a far more interesting way for them to access the topic than me standing in a PSE classroom and telling them,” she said.
“It’s been fantastic to see a lot of the knowledge young people already had about how different people exist in the world and how to support that, but to see them become more confident discussing that and using that language.”
Scottish Ballet – Safe to Be Me
Scottish Ballet says Safe to Be Me is in line with Scottish Government targets to address racism, homophobia, bigotry, ableism and transphobia.
Sara Kemal, Scottish Ballet’s engagement creative director, said: “Having connected with over 4000 young people across Scotland, Safe to Be Me is a project that uses dance to explore identity, acceptance and respect, develop creative movement skills and encourage self-expression.
“During the project, young people work creatively with experienced dance practitioners to explore topics such as culture and ethnicity, family makeup, LGBTQ+ identities and disability.
“We are looking forward to continuing to evolve the project with Perth Academy and create space for young people to feel safe and confident in who they are.”
Conversation