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is a mother, singer, musician, storyteller, dancer, poet, play-specialist and clown. She put on her first show in the backyard when she was just 8 years old. It was one of the best days she ever spent with her neighborhood friends; they produced a multi-disciplinary spectacular, complete with song, dance, magic, acrobatics and drama. Since then, jennielea has continued to explore the excitement and enjoyment of creation and expression.
A perpetual student, jennielea is constantly examining (through private and collective studies) the world we live in and the way we choose to live in it. Through music, dance, storytelling and drama she attempts to find and create understanding, acceptance and cohesiveness in communities wherever she goes.
Professionally, jennielea has had the good fortune to sing and play a variety of music (from classical to punk) for a wide range of communities in Canada and abroad, televised and live from 1984 until the present. She has greatly enjoyed her role as a sometimes silly, often noisy messenger of the universal sub-concious.
For the last 7 years, she has been uncovering the magic created by communities who sing and play together through CircleSing! workshops and events and raising her lovely, energetic, insatiable bundle of joy, Allegra. Most recently, she has begun to work collaboratively with the Samba Squad and Red Pepper Spectacle Theatre to provide multi-disciplinary workshops to children at Rose Avenue Public School.
Her training includes 10 years of piano study (2 years opera) at the Royal Conservatory of Music, 7 years of orchestral and choral training and performance through Oakwood Collegiate Institute and the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra, 3 years of clown and movement theatre training at the Theatre Resource Centre, countless hours of workshop and private training in music, theatre, dance and poetry through many fabulous organizations including the Toronto Dance Theatre, Equity Showcase Theatre, and Langdon College and, most importantly, her connections with musicians, singers, storytellers, painters, sculptors, clowns, poets, philosophers, children, family, friends and strangers who have emerged in her life to generously share their knowledge and wisdom.
Some communities that have enjoyed the CircleSing! experience:
Alpha Alternative School
Brown Community Centre
Centro-Clinton Daycare
Friends of Hebrew University
High Park
Hillside Festival
Kensington Market Festivals
Mariposa Folk Festival
Swansea Town Hall
St. Joseph's Childbirth and Parenting Centre
Terry Tan Daycares
Thorncliffe Ontario Early Years Centre
Toronto Lawn Tennis Club
Tottenham Blue Grass Festival
YMCA Family Development Centre
University Settlement House
A fun and engaging movement based music program, CircleSing! is all about
opening up opportunities for creative communication.
Each series offers you and/or your children an opportunity to play together
and learn something new. Working with music from around the world and
time-honoured favourites in rhyme and song, CircleSingers explore distinctions
in sound and rhythm, learn about language and share ideas.
We are all naturally drawn to the patterns in music and rhythm in language:
mentally, emotionally and physically.
CircleSing! workshops offer an opportunity to enjoy that attraction
and explore it with others in the community.
Using rhythm and rhyme in an enjoyable way.
Introducing the basics of sound play.
Uncovering patterns that can make learning easier.
Building children's confidence in oral language.
Offering opportunities for repetition, which builds fluency.
Promoting social interaction and building a sense of community,
which helps to develop self-esteem.
Serving as a creativity prompt, offering everyone the chance to experiment
with their own variations on well-known themes.
Providing an opportunity for parents and caregivers to focus on developmental play,
to notice patterns in learning and behaviour and to provide active support.
Mental downtime.
The simplicity of singing and playing is an opportunity
to allow the mind to rest and recuperate.
Emotional downtime.
Empty rooms and the sensory stimulation means children are naturally drawn to participate. And anything goes...there is no set rule for "how" to participate-just do whatever feels natural. (for the very young - sometimes that means exploring the group from the outside and that's ok too.)
Provides opportunities to explore a variety of emotions and impulses that manifest verbally and physically in a positive environment while also providing creative outlets for them.
Builds a toy box of songs, stories, games and activities to enjoy whenever the mood strikes.
Over the years, I have found many ways to combine age groups to create an enjoyable and educational CircleSing! experience. However, I have also found many benefits to working with groups who are at similar stages in their development, and so created guidelines.
It is important to remember that each child is different in the way that they experience their development. Some one year olds are exceedingly verbal while some three year olds are painfully shy. Some 4 year olds love to play with younger children and some are constantly looking for activities that provide a greater challenge. Sometimes older kids are quite skilled but lack confidence.You know your own child better than anyone else, so always feel free to enquire about a program regardless of its age restrictions if you think it would be appropriate for you and your child.
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