Salt Point Center (SPC) kindergartners had a chance to experience a sensory-friendly live performance at the Bardavon earlier this month filled with much excitement.
Storyteller and musician David Gonzalez, whose poetry has been featured at Lincoln Center’s Out-of-Doors Festival and on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” held the “lights-up, sound-down, no-shush” show called “Aesop Bops!” designed to create a welcoming and accessible environment for young audiences. The fast-paced and humorous show features a mix of some of Aesop’s classic tales including “The Lion and the Mouse” and “The Turtle’s Shell” told aloud with funky music by Gonzalez’s Yak-Yak Band, according to Gonzalez’s website.
It was also an interactive show, where Gonzalez welcomed SPC students on the stage to sing with him including Shane Phelan, who had fun getting to perform.
“I got to sing ‘Three Little Kittens’,” Phelan recalled.
SPC Principal Melissa Murphy noted that opportunities like this connect what students are learning in the classroom to the wider world in meaningful ways.
“Live performances invite our students to experience language, storytelling and emotion through all their senses – especially in an environment designed to support their needs,” Murphy said. “Experiences like this expand our students’ confidence and creativity while making learning come alive.”
