We invite children aged 6–10 to join the cycle of performative sessions “Rock, Paper, Scissors” at Tselinny.

This laboratory will help children explore the world through the things that surround them. In these sessions, the object becomes the main focus: it can be listened to, observed, touched, compared, and related both to other objects and to the body. A rope, a plastic bottle, a football, a wooden stick, or an elastic bandage can become material for observation, play, and imagination.

The performative format here is connected to action rather than theatre. Children will explore objects through movement, sound, gesture, rhythm, and interaction with space and with one another. This approach helps them understand the qualities of an object more deeply and experience that knowledge through the body, attention, and imagination.

Throughout the cycle, participants will develop attention, fantasy, creative and embodied thinking, imagination, and the ability to express their thoughts freely. The course supports children in learning how to observe, invent, experiment, and notice unexpected qualities in ordinary things.

The sessions will be led by Dima Severin, an actor, director, and clown. He graduated from the Moscow Art Theatre School, Brusnikin’s workshop, and the State School of Circus and Variety Arts named after Rumyantsev (Karandash). Dima has collaborated with Slava Polunin, Maxim Didenko, Anton Adasinsky, and Dmitry Krymov.

The sessions will take place on Saturdays from 3:00 to 4:30 pm at Atelier, Tselinny’s educational space, located at 59 Masanchi Street, Almaty. As part of the cycle, participants will also be able to explore other areas of the centre, including the first floor. The maximum number of participants in the group is 14.

The fee for one session is 6,000 KZT. The fee for the full cycle is 40,000 KZT. Tickets can be purchased either for the full cycle or individually for sessions one through seven. The eighth session is a final sharing to which parents will be invited. Children who have attended at least five sessions will be able to take part.

Programme

25 April, Saturday, 3:00–4:30 pm
Session One. Sound
In the first session, participants will explore how different objects sound and how sound changes through touch, movement, time, and bodily interaction. At the end of the session, the group will create a collective musical jam using objects, the body, and the voice.

2 May, Saturday, 3:00–4:30 pm
Session Two. Texture
This session focuses on the material qualities of objects: their density, surface, flexibility, and capacity for change. Children will explore how texture responds to people, temperature, time, and environment, and how this can also sharpen their awareness of their own bodies.

9 May, Saturday, 3:00–4:30 pm
Session Three. Colour and Light
Participants will observe the colours of objects, their mood and visual energy, and notice how perception shifts depending on light and sensation. This session invites children to experience colour not only as something seen, but also as something felt.

16 May, Saturday, 3:00–4:30 pm
Session Four. Function
In this session, children will reflect on what an object is for and what kind of action is embedded in its shape. Through simple examples, participants will explore how the function of a thing can become an image, a movement, or a way of relating to others.

23 May, Saturday, 3:00–4:30 pm
Session Five. Another Object. Dialogue
After getting to know a single object, participants will move on to relationships between things. What happens when a thread meets a needle, a sheet of paper meets water, or rock, paper, and scissors meet one another? This session is devoted to dialogue between objects and to how that dialogue can resonate in the body and imagination.

30 May, Saturday, 3:00–4:30 pm
Session Six. I Am an Object
In the sixth session, children will try transferring the qualities of an object into movement, state, rhythm, and bodily sensation. This session focuses on attention to the body, association, and the ways an object can open up a new mode of feeling and acting.

6 June, Saturday, 3:00–4:30 pm
Session Seven. Preparing for the Sharing
In this session, participants will return to what they have discovered throughout the cycle and begin shaping small forms for the final sharing. This could take the form of an étude, a dialogue between a person and an object, a composition, or another idea that emerged during the sessions.

13 June, Saturday, 3:00–4:30 pm
Session Eight. Sharing, Cake, Celebration
The final session will be an open ending to the cycle. Parents will be invited, and participants will be able to share whatever they would like to show: images they have discovered, short scenes, object-based compositions, and other outcomes of their work.