Compassion Stories: Exploring emotion and energy in children's theater

October 27, 2023

Jon Filip Fahlstrøm and Jens Jeffry Trinidad spent their fall break doing research at AKS for their next performance - "We took inspiration from the concept of Mosh Pits, a phenomenon most often encountered at metal concerts," they say about the process.

The performance Compassion Stories premieres at Kloden theater in the spring. We talked to Trinidad about how they went about working with 3rd and 4th graders about emotions, body and energy.

Can you tell us a bit about the performance Compassion Stories?

- Compassion Stories is a collaboration between Jon Filip Fahlstrøm and me. It is an interactive dance performance, where we have landed on the target group 3rd - 5th grade. The performance aims to activate energy and emotions. Through a hybrid form between performance and workshop, the children are led through various physical tasks. These reflect some of the material we use in the performance. 

How have you worked with research for the performance during the fall break?

– We have taken inspiration from the concept of Mosh Pits, a phenomenon that is most often encountered at metal concerts. Here, the audience gets an outlet for an enormous amount of power and aggression within a framework that there is a cultural consensus around. Together with both school classes and AKS, we have modified this concept so that the children can experience the same unfolding, then within a framework that is safe for this target group. We have tried out music, and which type of music activates what for this age group. When it comes to the workshop element, it has been very important to meet with classes to find a form that harmonizes with the performance. We have been fortunate enough to have Loan Ha as a guiding external eye, as well as lots of good input from Kloden theater. 

How did you go about working with children on emotions?

- Our starting point was the body and energy, without conceptualizing too much. We wanted to let the children get started by being physically active and involved, and then feel how this resonated with what they would experience through the performance.