For People Who Have to Move to Think
How the story of a little girl continues to inspire...
There's something beautiful about a story that makes you feel less alone. In this case, I’d like to remind you of a story that has made millions of people feel less alone.
Sir Ken Robinson’s acclaimed first TED Talk, Do Schools Kill Creativity, has been watched almost 80 million times. Since its release almost twenty years ago it has consistently remained the number one TED Talk of all time. I’m going to hazard a guess that if you’re subscribed to this newsletter you’ve seen it. If you haven’t - what are you waiting for?? Link above :)
In the talk he artfully tells a number of stories, but unquestionably the story that has resonated the most with audiences all around the world is the story of Gillian Lynne - the little girl who couldn’t sit still in class, but who, instead of being punished, was sent to a dance school. The little girl who grew up to be one of the most successful and renowned dancers and choreographers in the world, choreographing such iconic works as Cats and the Phantom of the Opera, and who was awarded a Damehood for her services to dance and musical theatre. In fact, Dame Gillian Lynne’s life and career was so iconic that she was the first non-Royal woman to have a West End theatre named after her.
You can watch a beautiful sizzle reel of Dame Gillian’s career below, courtesy of the Lynne and Land Foundation.
It’s a breathtaking career to be sure, but it’s not the scope of Dame Gillian’s success that I think resonates with people - it’s the fact that they see themselves, or someone they love, in her story.
"Mrs. Lynne, Gillian isn't sick. She's a dancer. Take her to a dance school."
When she arrived at the dance school, Gillian found herself surrounded by other people who, like her, had to “move to think.”
And there in that simple concept is, I believe, the crux of what makes this story so impactful and so relatable: that some people have to move to think.
For so many of the millions of people watching the talk who struggle to sit still in school or at work, that simple line has been a revelation that tells them something massive: they aren’t alone.
Like Gillian, they aren’t sick or broken or stupid or wrong either - they are movers, they have to move to think - they have simply been forced through a system that fails to recognise the myriad of ways in which our brains process information. Thanks to Dame Gillian for telling her story, and to SKR for sharing it, audiences all over the world have been able to stand up and advocate for themselves.
“Hope. Gratitude. Thank goodness there are people actively talking about, researching and doing something about this problem. I am like the woman who couldn’t sit still as a child and became an amazing dancer. I was told to sit still and be quiet. My passions literally exploded out of me as soon as I got … out of school and now I make a living playing music. So I am teaching my daughter creativity as an at home curriculum and I run around shouting to the world to do the same.”
- A contribution to the 10 Years On… campaign, created to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Do Schools Kill Creativity?
In the years following the TED Talk, SKR was inundated with beautiful messages like the one above from people who had seen themselves, or their children, or their parents, or their siblings in his talk, and in particular in Gillian’s story.
Stories like these remind us why representation matters. When we wear our identities proudly, and celebrate what makes us different, we are not only serving ourselves but empowering others. Gillian’s story is so important because there are still so many children sitting in classrooms all over the world feeling that they are naughty, or not intelligent, or fundamentally less than just because they process information differently
In honour of all of the children and adults who have to move to think and inspired by two legendary icons, Sir Ken and Dame Gillian, today we are proud to be launching our new fundraising line of apparel: I Move to Think.
Created in partnership with our sister organisation, Creative Families, this limited run of sweaters and t-shirts for adults and children are for all of you who have to move to think. Our hope is that you, like us, can wear them with pride knowing that you are part of an international community of movers and shakers. In doing so, you are also declaring to the world that it is okay to be different.
If you benefited from hearing Dame Gillian’s story and from watching Sir Ken’s TED Talk, if you felt seen and understood, if you were able to give yourself grace and dignity and understanding as a result, then this line is for you, and it’s for everyone else who needs to hear that message too.
As a bonus, every purchase supports the Sir Ken Robinson Foundation and Creative Families to spread the message to children all over the world who have to move to think that they aren’t broken either - the system is.
You can find the full range here:
By the way, Sir Ken and Dame Gillian stayed in touch in the years following their first lunch when he interviewed her for his book the Element (which he refers to as “Epiphany” in the TED Talk, the name of the book was changed ahead of publication). I love that he called her Gillie.
Dame Gillian passed away in 2018, but her legacy lives on in the work she created, in the love of her husband Peter Land, and in the work of their Foundation, the Lynne and Land Foundation, in supporting young artists around the world.
If you loved Dame Gillian’s story in SKR’s TED Talk, you’ll really love this quick clip from NPR in which they interviewed Gillian on her story in her own words and remixed it with audio from the TED Talk, it’s simply beautiful.
If you would like to support the work of the Sir Ken Robinson Foundation in establishing, protecting, and sharing the Sir Ken Robinson Archive, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription.
We’re a very small, family run foundation. Only a handful of people can afford to work for free in this world, and unfortunately we aren’t them! The Sir Ken Robinson Foundation is a passion project, not a money making machine, and we are dependent upon donations and subscriptions like this one to keep going.
Our current priority is the curation and protection of the Sir Ken Robinson Archive. We feel it would be both a tragedy and a huge disservice to put this incredible collection in storage and let it get dusty, so we’re committed to establishing it fully and, one day, being able to share it with the world in a way that is as open source as possible.
We can only do that with support from people like you. All of the subscriptions go directly to project overheads, like keeping the archive boxes kept in a safe environment.
We know it isn’t possible for everyone to pay a subscription cost, and we’re so glad you’re here in any capacity - it’s the people who make this movement so special and, in particular, who keep this mission and legacy alive. You can show your support for free by hitting the heart button below and sharing our posts with your own communities if they resonate with you.