The dance goes on.

It is funny to see what is inherited by one's children. Sometimes it is like seeing the essence of a parent poured into the child - a reanimation of the soul. A case in point occurred last Friday, with Tiarnan, three.

Tiarnan was having a "Concert", for his graduating class from Kindergarten. Each class got the chance to dance at least once. Tiarnan had more than one dance.

Now, I didn't expect much from a children's dance - and indeed, most of the children were not really able to dance: they didn't know where to place their limbs, and when to communicate beauty in anyway. Tiarnan, however was a revelation. What was startling was to see him dance with the utmost confidence in his movement, his grace and just the right choice of placement of limb, to have the greatest effect. I realized, very quickly, that Tiarnan, though very small, was a natural dancer. I felt deeply touched to see him dance, for I realized, in that moment, that he was, in a very real sense, like a living reincarnation of his mother - who is the best dancer I have ever seen (though she would be shy to acknowledge it).

I felt so proud to see Tiarnan up there. He can be quite shy at home - but on stage, he came truly alive, in fact, more than alive, he was like a little demigod, up there, shining forth with a previously unseen stage presence. I understood, then, that Tiarnan really is a natural performer. The stage, for him, appears to be a natural territory - a place he instinctively knows how to be, on.

Tiarnan's stage presence and his skill at dance and movement are special abilities. I realize this. I understand this. I appreciate this. However, in Singapore's unilaterally academic environment, how many people see this? Does anyone, here, really understand the emotional and kinaesthetic intelligences involved when a child is able to do what Tiarnan did, on Friday? I think not. Singaporeans typically do not see the intelligence in such things - nor do they see its value. Perhaps that is why Singapore's dramatic and dance scene is so irremediably impoverished.

Tiarnan is a natural actor and a natural dancer. He is also many other things -but were he just those two things, I would be more than pleased. Such gifts, are wonderful gifts to have and mean that he can make an interesting contribution to life. However, I think his eventual contribution will be more complex still and diverse and whether it ever involves acting or dance, will depend very much on the opportunities he receives to learn and grow in those areas - and, of course, the chance to work in them, too. I don't know, at this time, whether any of those chances will be forthcoming - but I will try to make it so.

What really struck me about his presence on stage, is that he seemed so happy there - so comfortable. That, in itself, is the best sign that it is the right thing for him. He showed no nervousness, no worry, no fidgeting - he was utterly still when he should be still and in graceful motion, when he should be moving.

Tiarnan...the stage loves you...and it seems you love the stage. Tiarnan, you were by far the best dancer, on the stage that day, out of all the years who danced (up to six years old). I am glad you have discovered this particular pleasure so young. I hope, too, that you get more chances to explore it, in the years to come.

The discovery of Tiarnan's dance skill was uncanny. I felt, at once, its potent meaning: that the dance which began in Syahidah, continues in Tiarnan. Whatever genetic gift my wife has for complex graceful movement has been passed on, in sufficient measure, for it to be seen in her three year old son. I cannot, at this moment, know if he will ever be as good as his mother (that hardly seems possible!), but certainly, he has enough of her gift for dance to be noted for it. It would be good to think that he will one day be as good as her.

What was particularly funny was that Tiarnan was dancing to 70s music. It was sweet.

I hope, one day, Tiarnan, that you see little dancers in your own children, too.

Long may the dance go on!

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

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IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals. If you would like to look at my IMDb listing for which another fifteen credits are to be uploaded, (which will probably take several months before they are accepted) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look. My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

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Childhood imagination and acting on the stage

Yesterday, I had the chance to see Fintan in a stage performance. It was not a theatrical show, as such, but more of a guided theatrical performance, with the help of their teacher.

Seeing Fintan transform from a child into a rocket, then a moon buggy, then an astronaut, and an airplane and back to a child again, told me much about the quality of his inner imaginative life.

Fintan was very committed to each action, each role, each image that he had to portray. He was very expressive, physically, in how he relayed the meaning of what he had been asked to do - and he was very, very enthusiastic. Above all, it was his imagination that was clear from his work. There was great physical detail in his imagining of the roles he was to portray - careful placing of body, arm, hand and face to give just the right meaning to what he intended. There was nothing half-hearted about what he did: it was clear that he both enjoyed it and was good at it.

Other kids of his age showed fair imagination, too (four year olds).

Yet, what was really telling, for me, was what happened next. We waited to see the performance of the five and six year olds. The contrast was clear. The older kids were more capable with words - more at ease with their use - but there was something dreadfully missing. Someone had stolen their imaginations. There was a marked reduction in imaginative power, creative commitment - and, compared to Fintan, detail of performance, in the older kids. I was surprised at this. I had expected to see a steady development of ability - a progression to higher things. But that is not what I could clearly see up on the stage. I saw more use of words and less use of body. I saw a lot of talk at the expense of expressiveness, imagination, creative daring, commitment, enthusiasm, insight and simple stage presence. Fintan showed all of these qualities at four - and his agemates showed more of them than the older kids. It was an odd and unsettling realization. Somehow, it seems, that children lose something as they get older: they lose their "childish" imaginations - but they don't gain anything worthwhile in return. Where the younger kids were fluid and fun, the older kids were stiff and dull. It was sad to see.

I have not had the chance to see this comparison in other cultures and races. But it may be general - and if so, it is a worry. Clearly, in this education system at least, the children are rapidly losing the very quality we would most want to see flourish: their creative imaginations. Not that alone, but they are losing it very early on. I saw a marked difference between four year olds and five/six year olds. A decline should not be noticeable over such a short time - but it was. Perhaps we should look for a different place and way to school Fintan - and Tiarnan - before they, too, are rigidified.

Then, again, it may not just be the school. It might be a natural process. Or it could be the whole culture. Whatever is to blame, it is most obvious that young children are losing their imaginations at a very young age.

You may say I didn't see enough children. Well, I did. There were two groups of about fifteen children each. The difference between the typical performance of the four year olds and the typical performance of the five/six year olds was marked. There was no doubt about it.

I really wonder at what schools do for children: do they open their minds up - or close them down?

This experience has really set me to wondering.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and nine months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and two months, and Tiarnan, nineteen months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)