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Training: Best of British

Choreographer instructions

Please see the written information below the video.

PLEASE NOTE Although the titles of the video are listed 2 followed by 1 they are in fact in the correct order left to right - please go by the captions below.

We do not currently have voiceover notes for this workshop.

Assembly : Do the assembly the same and then at the end mention that today you are going to be doing a special dance to celebrate the Best of British and ask the children to have a think during the day or when they go back to their class rooms, to come up with what they think ‘Best of British’ is. Hopefully the teachers will then discuss this in class with them before they arrive for their workshop.

Intro for each group: when the group comes in, get them to sit on the floor in front of you as quickly as they can. Ask them if they have had a chance to think about what it means when you say ‘Best of British’ and what we are proud of in this country, what things do we have here that we consider to be British etc. Get a few examples. If they haven’t thought about it with the teacher before they have come in, then you can prompt them by asking what wonderful building do we have, where does the queen live, what food do we have, what sports do we have and what kind of music.

1)   Warm Up

2)   Games

a)    Follow my leader/I’m the Guard I’m in charge

Ask them if they know about the changing of the guard. Ask them how guards move (march with high knees, march with long legs, walk, side step on horse back, gallop trot. Tell them that what ever the head guard is doing the other soldiers/guards must follow and must be careful not to touch each other and stay in formation.  

Ask the children how quickly they can make a big circle in the room. Then say ‘If I was the guard and I was in charge you would all follow me around in a circle’ Get the children to move around following you as the guard. Say, “I’m the guard I’m in charge” and explain that they must do it in a loud and proud voice if they are picked.

Explain about how proud we are to be British and ask them how proud people talk etc, to ensure they speak in a loud voice. You start it and then after a few moments of them following you, for example marching, shout freeze! Tap a child on the head and they must say “I’m the guard I’m in charge” then everyone follows what they are doing.

Encourage the children to use a different step each, (with reception n year 1 they may all just do the same step, try and find way to encourage them to think of a different step) but each child should only pick one step and not lots of different ones as it is hard to follow, this can be explained in the set up, when explaining about the changing of the guard.  Do this 5 or 6 times with different children each time shouting freeze before taping a child on the head to become the guard and then the child calling out in a big voice. If it isn’t loud enough, make them do it again. It is important we are seen to improve the children's confidence and make them sound proud.

Saying silly things like “bet you cant speak so loudly that you scare me (and then run behind the teacher or a piano or something when they then do it loudly) will really help little children in year reception and year 1. Or “if you say it loudly you might blow me over” get them to do it a few times each time nearly falling until they are so loud and then you do fall over. This makes them laugh and will relax the younger ones. However it does eat up time so only use this if necessary.

b)   People to people/Guard to guard

As proud British people it is important that we know how to work well together and the queen has had to work well with people all her life to have had such a successful reign on the throne. 

Reception, year 1 and 2

Royal Intro, get them to think about how they would greet the queen, salute, bow curtsey etc. Ask them to start the dance standing tall feet together like soldiersthe on the Royal intro they do their curtsey or bow and then all crouch down into a ball.

Jump up at the start of the music into

(Do each pose and then 2 movemnets together as a class rather than in individual groups)

1)   Big Ben

2)   Wimbledon hitting tennis ball (year two can add umpire, crowd, ball boy)

3)   Eating a Cream tea (year two can add levels or looking in picnic basket, passing the tea)

4)   Rock band (year 2 can play different instruments)

Each Freeze is held for 8 counts then move the picture for 8 counts with 2 different movements, 2 counts each movement

Strawberry fields –

Everyone crouches down at start and then slowly snake up to standing

2x8 slow motion movements, 4 counts per move (a mixture of the movements done before, for example one wave, one tennis, one cream tea, one playing guitar)

1-6 one more movement of your choice

Strawberry fields forever – all snake back down to a crouch

Let Me Entertain you – (see video)

1-8 Jump up at start legs apart r arm punches up, left hand fist on hip

1-8 drum roll or guitar with head bang

1-4 legs apart punch up r, l, r, jump feet together bring arms in

5 legs apart r arm forward left arm fist on hip

6-8 drive the car

1-4 step turn step to the right

5-8 left foot touch out with left arm punch out shoulder height, together, repeat  (foot in the sea, its too cold)

1-3 bounce down

4 jump up legs apart salute r hand, l hand fist to hip (confused soldier as his legs are apart not together)

5-8 repeat

1-4 up on heals arms swing round at shoulder height fingers spread r to l and back l to r (arms reach to the crowds)

5-8 repeat but with arms up over head (reach to the sky)

1-4 over the puddles left low, queens wave high (over the puddle say hello to the queen)

5-8 repeat other way

1-8 lift right knee to a march using left arms at a right angle across body, hand in fist, (funky march, say to them that its like a march but you’re are making it more of a dance step, by using just one left and making it sharper)

1-8 repeat over the puddles

1-8 repeat marches

(this is all I managed to do for all the year groups as I ran out of time,  if this is the case end by running into a group in the middle and fade music)

or add more

1-4 feet apart and bouncing arms up above head doing come on waves

5-8 feet together and bouncing low arms low and together doing come on waves

1-4 come up putting crown on head

5-8 elbow stabs with heal swivel r, l, r, l

1-4 rainbow arms over head left to right

5-8 rainbow arms back

1-8 facing left side lift right knee up to chest then touch foot back down behind 4 times

1-4 slide to right, left leg drag right arm high left arm shoulder height, dig left foot in twice, hands to hips in fist

5-8 repeat to left

1-4 repeat to back arms coming up in front to shoulder height

5-8 4x ski jabs r, l, r, l

1-8 repeat side slides

1-8 get the children to move into a group in the center to do a finishing pose of their choice.

Fade Music manually once they get there.

Year 3, 4, 5, and 6

Royal Intro same as above, then all group crouch down.

Split them into 4 groups and give them one of the topics each for them to make their own freeze frames. (same as above)

1-8 Group one jumps up into their freeze,

1-2 movement one 3-4 movement two, 4-8 repeat movements one and two again

freeze and hold till all 4 groups have gone

3x8 repeat with other 3 groups

Strawberry fields-

Go straight into their slow motion movements, 4 count to each movement. The counts on the track are odd but you end up calling out what they are doing over the top of the first section anyway. Call out ‘movement one, movement two, movement one, movement two’ drawing out your voice and the words to fill the full 4 beats each time, so your voice sounds like its in slow motion also, this helps them to remember what they are doing.

‘Strawberry fields forever’ snake down

Let me entertain you-

1-8 Jump up on start of ‘let me entertain you’

1-8 drum roll or air guitar

see above for the rest of the dance same as with reception.

Again if you have time then do the longer version of the dance, however I wasn’t able to fit this in when I did it and so did the shorter version.

COOL DOWN

Simple breathing exercises