Strange Shadow: Dancing alongside boundaries of self/other

Leigh (Pedagogy & Approach Support Educator)

In the unpredictable world that we step into with children, we have been trying to notice what seems strange. And in turn, to this unpredictable world, children respond with complicated questions and mysterious curiosities. Lately in the Sages room, there has been subtle attention to shadows as they have made us pause, and they have become rather unfamiliar or strange. We wish to bring you along the inquiry and exploration with this toddler group.

There were many moments where children have come to encounter shadows. We met shadows on our daily walks, played with dinosaur shadows, watched shadows growing on the wall, and even caught sleeping shadows as we woke up from our daily naps. Shadows have become more than an object of study that is merely understood through the science of light, but Shadow has become someone who lives with us and invites us into mystery and surprise.

We open here with a documentation composed by Ian, one of our brilliant educators in the Sages program, which illustrates a shared moment between children and Shadow. This glimpse into our current inquiry is then followed by an interpretation that draws out the pedagogical significance of this moment.

Dancing with Shadow

Documentation by Ian Kwok, Sages Educator

A soft glow from the overhead projector cast light across the white cloth, creating an inviting space where shadows quietly came to life. Niko followed his curiosity into a spontaneous exploration of movement, light, and self-awareness.

As he stepped into the illuminated area, he swayed his arms and exclaimed,

“Look Ian, I’m dancing with my shadow!”

 His observation reflected more than excitement; it suggested an emerging awareness of representation that his body and its shadow were connected yet distinct. He experimented with exaggerated arm movements, seemingly testing how far his shadow could stretch and follow him.


 

Emma took a turn on the stage too (left). Holding Bunna, she noticed, "My Bunna's shadow is dancing too! Look at this, Ian! Bunna's shadow is jumping!" As she tossed Bunna upward. Her language revealed a capacity to extend the experience beyond herself, adding animation and agency to Bunna's shadow too.

Emma's attention was not only on her own body but on the shared projection, highlighting the collective dimension of this experience how shadows could overlap, merge and separate.

Lulu quietly observed Niko and Emma.  Then she suddenly picked up the pumpkin headband and positioned it on her head (right). As she looked at her shadow, she tilted her head slowly from side to side, studying the outline of her shadow's new shape. Lulu was investigating the transformation of her shadow, the now-altered contour of her projected self. 

Movement is particularly novel in this age group because of the complex and ever-changing physical development of small bodies as children learn to move through spaces. However, this physical development is oftentimes the only way of seeing and interpreting young children’s experience, causing an omission of the more complex meaning-making that happens where they come to understand the world rather than just their own bodies. Here we can disrupt the normative ways of seeing young
children and their investigations that unfold beyond individual acquirement of skills and to a more collective sense of learning.

In this moment, children see, live, and move with shadows differently. Shadow is no longer an utterly strange being to observe, but someone who quietly invites us to dance and investigate. As a response
to this invitation, children slowly step into movement with Shadow, coming into connection. To be connected, yet distinct—like self, but Other. There is an interesting juxtaposition here that allows the boundary of the self and Other to be left unclear and carefully danced around with.

While Shadow is me, at the same time, it is Other.

Here, Shadow does not only pertain to individuals, but Shadow is seen as the Other who asks us to explore the transformative nature of our bodies and demands us to pay attention and care for other bodies around us. Individual children are not only interested in themselves, but to how Shadow can
move when other bodies also step into the light. The boundary between me and others is shaken up.

Although boundaries can keep us safe in many situations, often the unseen boundaries we set for both ourselves and young children limit interactions with others by separation, and sometimes even isolation. When such boundaries become unclear in this way, we begin to see children’s ways of being with others that are more complex and fuller in capacity to create something new—new ways of being and moving, living.

As we see children here beginning to explore other ways of moving, we learn with Shadow.

What new understandings can Shadow offer us of bodies, movement, and rhythm, both of our own
and others’?