Hello everyone, it’s been a long time since we last blogged. We’ve done lots since then, we’ve stared in another music video (watch it here), we’ve graduated from our Inclusive Arts Course and most exciting of all we now work for Epic Arts!

Sothon is Epic Arts new Operations Assistant and the rest of us are Teaching Assistants! When we found out about our new jobs we were all so excited because most of us believed we would never have a job.

“I’m very happy with my new job at Epic Arts. Before I joined Epic Arts I thought I would never be able to get a job because of my disability”-Thou

We are really excited to have our jobs at Epic

“This year I hope I will improve leading arts workshops, I think my new job will have some challenges but I think I will also have a lot of fun with it” - Thuo

We think having a job is very important and we are all proud that we have achieved this

“Because I’ve finished studying & have a job, I have more confidence now. I’m learning new skills all the time sometimes I get homesick and miss my family but I want to be independent. I want to live alone. I want to learn to support myself” – Socheat

We bet you’re wondering what we actually do in our new jobs now that you know how much we love them! As teaching assistant we do many things firstly we help deliver the Inclusive Arts Course with the Arts tutors.

“I like the new IAC students, I think they have good dance skills. I want to help the students learn and improve their dance skills” - Teuly.

We also feel like we are mentors to the IAC students. We remember when we first joined Epic Arts, we had very different ideas about life and our abilities.

“Before I joined Epic Arts I felt lonely and I would stay at home a lot. I’m learning new skills now as a teaching assistant and I don't feel lonely because many people know sign language!” – Seangly

We also plan and teach our own workshops with a little help from the IAC teachers! We deliver three workshops a week for different Special Education classes at Epic Arts. This term we have been teaching the students how to use different body parts to interpret the theme ‘Travel’.



Once a week we travel to a local primary school called Chumkriel Language School, to teach art to the children. We really enjoy teaching at CLS

“The students are a happy group. I like teaching at CLS, the children are very respectful. They are doing great at the dance activities we give them” – Seangly. Sann agrees with Seangly about the students “I like the children at CLS their skills have developed well over the time we have been teaching them art”

We also still get to perform and this makes us very happy

“I’m excited because I still get to create new dances” - Seangly

We recently created a new piece with our choreographer, Kathryn, the piece is about the importance of education for children. We performed this piece at the Epic Showcase to over 250 people

"I was very happy because education is important and we also got to show people that we have skills even though we have disabilities” – Seangly

Sothon’s job is a bit different to the rest of us but we are glad that we get to see him a lot everyday running around the centre even though he is working in the office.

“I’m happy with my new job as the Operations Assistant. I love it! My job is to assist Mr. B, he’s my boss and he tells me what to do. Sometimes he says ‘Sothon lead the Arts Team performance’ I will do it. I am also in charge of checking all the schedules and I help look after the centre

Before then I started the course in 2012 I thought to myself ‘if I join Epic Arts I can only get a job as an artist or Dancer’ but now I have a job in an office! I love both sides of Epic Arts, performing and office work. I just always wanted to be a leader, I felt like that a long time ago and now I actually feel like a leader, I love it!”

Q. How did you make the wool pictures?

Sothon:  We needed to make a plastic bag sheet to start which we decided ourselves and put bits of wool on the plastic. We put wool on it all over the plastic from left to right, up to down, left to right again.

After that we added on a style that we wanted by cutting some soft materials and then by taking some net a bit bigger than the plastic bag to put on the wool. And also we needed some water to put on the net untill the wool was wet and took a soap to rub on the net (But we make sure the soap must be mixed together with the wool ). The last one we took the wool to clean it with water and shake it after we put it in one place and wait until it dry...

Q. Tell us about the wool used, what did it feel like and where did the wool come from?

Thou: It felt like the cotton here but it very soft. The wool came from England. It great for me and I have never seen it before. It made me excited.
Q. What did you like most about making the wool picture?
I like to take the wool and make different style and colour picture. When I finished making wool picture, It made me interested and happy to see what I make. I really enjoyed it.

What Sothon thought….

 

Explain what you did to prepare for the parade with Bloco Malagasy last Sunday

 

 

What Chamreoun thought…….

How did you feel just before the performance? 

How did you feel after the performance?

Last week we made very HAPPY video!

Here is our HAPPY video:

Chamreoun:

Chamreoun:

Sothon:

What do the other Inclusive Arts Student think?

Thaly:

Ryna:

Socheat:

Thou: