Live Show Under The Ocean - Helia Tong (s8098219) by Helia Tong

s8098219 — 2025-09-04 03:31:51 UTC

I visited Werribee South Beach in the morning. I could say this experience was enchanting. It formed my connection with the place. As I walked alongside the shore, I saw the sparkling sunlight reflect on the water. The rolling waves repeated and crashed on the shore. Walking on the wet sand, I could see my footprints and even those of the seagulls around. There were seashells, seaweed, and driftwood scattered across the sand. A seagull flew across the ocean.

The strong wind blew across the beach. Over my head, birds chirped and seagulls quacked. I immerse myself in the beach. I could feel the grit of seashells when touching them. The softness of sand beneath my toes as I stepped onto them. A burst of breeze touched my skin and lingered on my lips. Warming sunlit on my shoulder. I smelled the fresh air from the sea and tasted the salty tang of sea air on my lips. These sensations sparked my imagination and made me wonder what was hidden underneath the ocean, waiting to be discovered.

Once again, I was jumping into the Parallaxis game while turning back to my childhood game of exploration. I imagined an imaginary friend who would take me on an exciting journey to explore the deep blue sea out there. Just like a natural orchestra, I think there are some musical bands of sea creatures waiting to be discovered underneath the ocean. The beach gave me so much inspiration and profound insight, where sound, movement, and dance can combine at the same time, further uniting my connection to place.

Live Show Under The Ocean - Storytelling

s8098219 — 2025-09-04 03:32:09 UTC

Podcast Transcript

s8098219 — 2025-09-05 23:32:54 UTC

Music is alive, appearing in the relentless and imposing symphony of nature (Language of music - Ocean waves, wind, birds, and seagulls ...)

s8098219 — 2025-09-05 23:37:41 UTC

According to Miserables (as cited in Wilson, 2018), "there was a time when the world was a song, and the song was exciting" (p. 1). I actually felt the dynamic rhythm of the natural symphony. The waves rolled crashed on the shore rhythmically like deep drums in the ocean, along with the rustling of leaves. Additionally, the fierce roar of the wind like a pipe organ. The chirping of birds like the high notes in a symphony. Holding shells closer to the ear, I heard the deep echoes of the ocean, giving me an association that it would be wonderful to combine these layers of sounds together. Schafer said, "A soundscape is any collection of sound, almost like a painting is a collection of visual attractions" (New, 2009). A vivid world gradually unfolds, reminding me of my childhood being a mermaid among sea creatures. By tapping seashells to assume castanets or blowing bubbles through water to mimic bubble sounds, I transformed my sensory experience into soundscapes that children can both hear and play with in their own imaginative learning.

In future practice, I would like to design a space for children where they can explore both nature and improvised soundscapes, create, and express. For example, by providing natural objects such as shells, pebbles, or sticks, children not only experiment with the sounds but also develop listening and sensory awareness and cultivate empathy for the environment.

Creative Response and Artefacts Analysis

s8098219 — 2025-09-06 02:47:15 UTC

The vibrant sounds of wind, waves, birds, seashells, and leaves inspired me to write this lovely short story. As Greenman (as cited in Wilson, 2018) describes, "nature is alive with sound" (p.4), providing a rich array of sounds for children to explore. By pretending as a child, I transformed the dynamic symphony of nature and ocean waves with a peaceful beach scene into a live musical show under the ocean. Highlighted by Carson (as cited in Wilson, 2018), children view the world as "fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement" (p. 5). Sally and Sunny had an interesting exploration journey to Ocean City and joined the ocean band. To make to story more dramatic and engaging, I incorporate dramatic narration, improvised music from natural and man-made sounds, as well as gesture-based narration to depict the playful and vivid scenes rather than considering them as separate elements. Moreover, seashells also became a source of my motivation. Holding them closer to the ears, I could feel the breath of the ocean, sometimes high, sometimes low, evoking the hidden music beneath the waves. This creative project invites children to see the world in different aspects, further reflecting children's sensory transformation into imaginative play and constructing meaning through sound, movement, and drama.

The leaves and brushes swung in the wind as if dancing along (Language of Movement/Dance)

s8098219 — 2025-09-06 05:57:22 UTC

Inspired by the flow of the sea and the swaying brushes in the wind, I transformed these movements into dance for my ocean live music show. Mimicking each movement and illustrating each character's movement provokes my childhood moment when I allowed my body to immerse in the rhythm and sway like a professional ballerina. This kind of movement reminds me of the Mutton Bird performance, which imitates the mutton bird's flight by dancers with their bodies gently. I believe that movement can convey stories beyond words, and children are capable, sensitive, and have high ability. According to Malaguzzi (as cited in Gadini et al., 2011) that "each child is an organic unit who needs personal space for action and movement in his or her own personal way" (p. 321). Therefore, in future practice, I would like to invite children to join outdoor activities as they explore nature through embodied movement. They might illustrate the flow of wind or the bird's flight then present it in their own story with other peers. Such kinaesthetic exploration not only assists children's creativity and imagination but also nurtures sensory awareness and fosters motor skills and self-emotional expression, further promoting a sense of belonging and being.

The Dramatic Storytelling of Live Show Under The Ocean (Language of Drama)

s8098219 — 2025-09-06 05:59:36 UTC

Drama ties experiences and action together. When observing the interaction of nature, I imagined a lovely story about a child playing on the beach and having an exciting journey with her own imaginary friend - a mermaid. To visualize this piece, I observed and felt the surroundings with all my senses to make the story more interesting and vivid. I found myself returning to my childhood. Everything around me was so vivid and there was a door leading me into the fairy tale world. This made me think about how children see the world in a unique way. Supported by Bilton (as cited in Wilson, 2018), "through role play, children are able to "decenter" - to get into another person's shoes and to see things from another perspective" (p. 2). Subsequently, I would like to encourage children to participate in the role-play based nature, for instance, acting like a dolphin or a seahorse. Through dramatic play, children will improve their imagination and creativity while facilitating their use of voice, gesture, and movement more vibrantly and effectively in reality, further enhancing environmental awareness.

s8098219 — 2025-09-06 08:39:04 UTC