Vol. 38, No. 18

4-7-2004
By: Susan Wittstock

Teaching children joy: Professor conducts service trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina

Only 100 feet away from a school building in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, workers search for land mines, leftovers from the war that ravaged Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995.

R.J. David Frego spent the week of March 22 in Mostar, providing an introduction to Dalcroze Eurhythmics to a small group of children and to their teachers. Frego employs Dalcroze Eurhythmics, a music education method that uses rhythmic movement and improvisation, to help participants cope with emotional and physical difficulties.

Frego, associate professor of music education and assistant director of Ohio State’s School of Music, has traveled the world teaching workshops on Dalcroze Eurhythmics and also is an expert in using the system as therapy for individuals with terminal cancer or in the later stages of AIDS. This trip was sponsored by the Pavarotti Foundation and by the College of the Arts.

Frego knew he would spend the week in Mostar working with children who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, and that some of them would be missing limbs from land mine accidents. “What I didn’t expect was the cultural tension,” he said.

The three cultural groups of Serbs, Croats and Muslims interact as little as possible. “They don’t want their children mixing,” Frego said.

Frego’s Dalcroze methods are designed to help break down barriers. “The kids always work in small groups, solving musical problems and creating musical experiences,” he said.

To facilitate the activities, the children had to be on neutral territory, meeting on a floor of a building owned by Educon, a non-governmental organization that is an outgrowth of the Pavarotti Music Center in Mostar. “Educon works toward the goal of bridging cultures,” Frego said.

Frego taught workshops with the assistance of translators, but learned basics quickly, like how to count to four. “For one class we had a theme of meter for the musical concept,” Frego said. “So I first had them walk and get the feel of beats. Then I brought out balls and we experimented with rhythms. We eventually took it to a musical event.”

The “event” is an improvised performance that has a structured beginning, middle and end with each child assigned a role. “If an outsider came in, they would think it was choreographed,” Frego said.

Afterwards, Frego sits down and talks with the participants about what they experienced. “Freedom of movement, working with a partner — all of that goes into the therapy,” he said. “It comes down to a feeling of joy.”

One school Frego attempted to visit had both Muslim and Croat students, but housed in separate wings with separate entrances. “When I showed up, they wouldn’t let us in,” Frego said. “The tension with the adults has to be worked on before they’re able to work on children.”

Because of the difficulty of finding children whose parents would let them participate, Frego worked primarily with teachers during his visit.

“There is only so much you can do in one week,” he said. “Research shows it takes six months to change behavior. The teachers can work long-term with the children.”

It was frustrating for Frego to see the lack of resources. “They desperately need percussion instruments, so I’m going to find some folks to donate some.” He brought rubber balls, elastics for stretching exercises, hand drums, 10 CDs and a number of books with him. “I came with a full suitcase and left empty.”

Frego has already received an informal invitation to return at some point, but says his already well-booked schedule will mean it will have to be at least two years from now.

Meanwhile, the teachers have his e-mail address and can write with questions.
Early in his career, Frego was an elementary school music teacher in Canada. “The children had all this energy and I thought, there’s got to be a way to capture this,” he said.

There was.

“I started training in Dalcroze,” Frego said. To become certified, Frego had to pass multiple exams testing his abilities in areas such as piano improvisation, choreography and movement. He now is one of only six instructors teaching at universities in the United States and is the former president of the Dalcroze Society of America. He teaches one graduate eurhythmics course a year, which attracts music, dance and somatic studies students.

He said the field is growing. “There’s a lot of interest in music schools. At major conservatories, like Oberlin or Julliard, it’s required. I prefer to offer Dalcroze Eurhythmics as an elective because of my limited teaching schedule. I’m only one person,” he said.

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