St John’s Hosts Spectacular Annual Country Dance Festival!

We are incredibly proud to have organised and hosted this year’s annual Country Dance Festival,bringing together 22 schools from across the boroughs of Kingston and Richmond—as well aswelcoming visiting schools from neighbouring boroughs. It was a joyous celebration of music, movement and togetherness.

Seeing hundreds of children laughing, skipping and working in harmony was a wonderful reminder ofthe strength of our wider community.

Nurturing Our Spirituality Through Dance

At St John's, we strive to live life ‘in all its fullness’ (John 10:10) and this festival provided a beautifulspace for our children to develop their spirituality in action. In Church of England schools, spirituality is about deepening our connections and we saw this flourish in three special ways during the festival:

• Our Connection with Others: Traditional country dancing requires absolute teamwork. The children had to listen to one another, lock eyes, hold hands and synchronise their

  movements. It built an immediate, joyful bond between children who had never met before.

  
  

• Our Connection with Self: Learning tricky patterns and dancing in front of a large crowd

  requires courage and resilience. Our children discovered a sense of inner confidence and the pure joy of expressing themselves physically.

• Our Connection with the Beyond: There is a unique, uplifting spiritual energy when a large group of people moves to the same rhythm. The shared laughter and collective energy created a sense of joy and peace that united children, parents and spectators on the field. This was wonderful to see.

As an annual tradition, this festival remains a highlight of our calendar and this has inspired other schools in and out of borough to join.