Identity in dance and song Erasmus Project

Project Title

Identity in dance and song

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy; Creativity and culture

Project Summary

The project Identity in dance and music is the collaboration of several European countries in the field of identity. It is really important to preserve the identity on personal, community or national level. One of the means for this is the tradition in dance and song.
The countries of Bulgaria, Greece, Poland, Italy, Portugal and Latvia agreed to cooperate and develop a project that deals with finding identiry in traditional dance and music.
The project meets the following priorities:
HORIZONTAL: Open education and innovative practices in a digital era
SCHOOL EDUCATION: Strengthening the profiles of the teaching professions
The motivation for this project can be found in the following:
1. Being part of the big European family all the nations should be thorough in preserving their own identity as it is the thing that makes Europe unique and so diverse.
2. Nowadays the pace of life is so fast and people are so busy with everyday issued that there is almost no time for paying respect to traditions apart from greater holidays and festivals.
3. Although we are in the big European family we hardly know our European fellow nations’ traditions in dance and song in particular.
4. Dance and song traditions are a matter of communication and interaction between generations. They are the means by which the differences can be overcome and communication and interaction can be improved.
5. Young generations should know the traditions in dance and song in particular and should be shown that there is no obstacle being part of a digital world and bearing the heritage of the descendants.
6. Getting to know the traditions of other nations increases the awareness of their importance for not losing the identity on personal, community and national level. It is also part of the process of lifelong learning that helps broaden the personal capacity and view.
7. Teachers are the people who have the crucial role of motivating their students to be inquisitive and curious. Teachers are also those who link the worlds of students, past and future. It is really important to strengthen the profile of the teacher through letting them facilitate the preservation of the cultural and national identity.
This project has these objectives:
1. Raising awareness about the role of traditional dance and song for the personal, community and national identity and in the intercultural communication and interaction.
2. Improvement of the communication and interaction of generations in the partner school communities.
3. Knowledge about the traditional dance and song across Europe.
4. Strengthening the teachers’ profile trough new skills and methods of teaching.
5. Lasting products.

Through the implementation of this project we aim the following results:
1. Students in the partner schools will:
– have the knowledge about the traditional dance and song of other European nations;
– improve their skills and competences for intergenerational and intercultural communication and interaction;
– participate project activities for acquiring and developing skills and competences in the area of communication.
2. Students and teachers together with specialists and members of the communities will do research on traditional dances and songs;
3. The teachers who participate the project events will:
– upgrade their qualification and exchange good practices with their fellow colleagues;
– establish interdisciplinary methodology for ensuring the sustainability of the project.
8. The participating schools will:
– gain experience in international cooperation;
– establish groups for traditional dance and song;
– produce videos and a book of the traditional dances and songs of their regions which will be included in an electronic almanach and published on the Internet;
– become aware of stakeholders and organisations on international level for cooperation in the future.

The target groups of the project are:
1. Pupils – 12 – 16 years old
2. Teachers
3. Specialists in traditional dance and song
4. Local dance and singing groups
5. Parents and grandparents

On the project there will be two activities for Short-term joint staff training events and four Short-term exchanges of groups of pupils.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 126320 Eur

Project Coordinator

General Secondary school Nikola Vaptsarov & Country: BG

Project Partners

• Ginasiano Escola de Dança, Lda
• School of Art of Peristeri
• Zespol Szkol w Lekawicy
• Istituto Comprensivo Padre Pino Puglisi
• Agrupamento de Escolas de Maximinos