Between Movement and Sound Kids Workshop 2026

Between Movement and Sound is a free performance workshop for young people aged 11 to 15 at Sharjah Art Foundation’s Al Madam Art Centre in Sharjah, held on the morning of Sunday 22 November 2026. Built around one playful question, how can your body become an instrument, it invites participants to make rhythm and music using nothing more than claps, steps and gestures, and to finish the session by performing what they have created together.

The body as an instrument

Most art workshops for this age group end with something to take home: a print, a painting or a model. This one ends with something the group makes together in the room. There are no instruments to learn and no sheet music to read. Instead, participants use their hands, feet and movements to explore how rhythm, sound and motion connect, and they discover that a stamp, a clap or a turn of the wrist can all be part of a composition.

That makes the session a hands-on introduction to ideas from performance and sound art, fields that Sharjah Art Foundation presents through its wider programme but which young people rarely get to try for themselves.

How the morning unfolds

The Foundation describes a session that moves step by step, starting with simple experiments and ending in a group piece. Participants first combine clapping, stepping and gestures to hear how movement and sound relate. They then play with three controls that change how a pattern feels:

• Speed: what happens when a rhythm is played faster or slower.
• Volume: how a pattern shifts when it moves between quiet and loud.
• Repetition: how repeating a sound or gesture turns it into a rhythm that others can join.

As they experiment, the group builds patterns that shift and change, then brings everyone’s ideas together into a lively final performance. Because each person contributes a part, quieter participants have a clear role, and the group ends the two hours with something it has composed rather than copied.

Who it suits

The workshop is aimed at 11 to 15-year-olds, an age that often falls between children’s craft sessions and adult courses. No dance, music or drama experience is needed. It suits young people who love to move, those who are drawn to rhythm and music, and those who are curious about performing but would rather do it as part of a group than alone. For parents, it offers a creative Sunday morning that is quite different to sport or tuition, with every activity taking place in a supportive group setting.

The session is delivered in English and Arabic, so it works for bilingual families and for participants who are more comfortable in either language. All materials are provided.

Al Madam Art Centre and how to register

Al Madam Art Centre is one of the Sharjah Art Foundation spaces outside Sharjah city, bringing the Foundation’s learning programme to families in the emirate’s central region. This workshop is part of the centre’s Autumn 2026 learning programme.

The workshop is free, but places need to be booked in advance using the Foundation’s online registration form for the Al Madam Art Centre programme, which is linked on the official event page. Sharjah Art Foundation aims to make its programmes inclusive and accessible, and families can request any support a participant needs through the same form. Questions can be sent to the Al Madam Art Centre team by email at Almadamcentre@sharjahart.org or by phone on (06) 8845634.

For more creative sessions, browse our kids’ events and workshops, see what else is on in things to do in November, find more on the Sharjah Art Foundation page, or explore more things to do in Sharjah.