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Training: The Great Race - Chinese Zodiac Dance Workshops
This workshop brings the story of the The Great Race to life through dance.
WEIS HQ will send you a copy of The Great Race: The Story of the Chinese Zodiac by Christopher Corr to your home. Use this to help you understand the story fully, but learn the bullet point versions from the links below when delivering in schools.
This new choreography has been made by choreographer, dancer and theatre maker, Abigail Huan.
Please work hard to maintain the detail and authenticity of her movement.
Please ensure you are familiar with the customs and traditions of The Lunar New Year and the Chinese Zodiac - you will teach children who celebrate the festival. If they are keen to share, allow their knowledge into your delivery.
The delivery of the warm up, game and storytelling should be differentiated according to the age of the group you are working with.
Timings are based on a 40 minute session.
There is a simple power point to be used to enhance your delivery.
Power Point
This first slide is a holding slide to have on the screen before your groups enter the space.
The second slide is to be used during your introduction. Use it to support a short discussion about Lunar New Year, the actives and traditions that people observe.
This third slide is the background for your active storytelling. The animals appear in the order they finish the race (Top left to bottom right)
The fourth slide is an animated slide that automatically scrolls through the animals from the race. This can be used as a backing to the dance and/or as visual aids for the students.
The final slide is to be used at the end of the dance.
Workshop structure
Introduction - 1min - Short introduction to the topic.
Warm up - 2-3 minute - physical warm up.
Storytelling - 3-5minute - Interactive bringing the story to life.
Game - 5 minute - Implementing some choreography and structure from dance.
Dance - 20 minute - Teaching choreography and performing the dance.
Introduction - Introduce yourself and tell them that you are a professional dancer/ choreographer and work in the theatre etc.
You love working in theatre as you get to tell stories, discover different cultures and traditions and create incredible worlds through dance.
Today, you are here to help them create a dance that explores THE GREAT RACE, one of the main stories associated with the Lunar New Year.
The dance has been made by an amazing professional choreographer called Abigail Huan - she is a contemporary dancer, based in UK, who grew up in Singapore where she studied and trained in Traditional Chinese Dance.
Who has heard of Lunar New year?
Who celebrates it at home?
Facilitate a quick conversation about the traditions and celebrations that take place during that time. Allowing any of the children with lived experience of The Lunar New Year, the space to share their knowledge (don’t take too long though!)
Warm Up -
Ask the group to find a space.
Explain that before any rehearsals, you always have to warm up to make sure your body and brain are ready.
Tell them to copy everything you do! 2-3 min Physical warm up.
Do a high energy, aerobic warm up, ensuring you warm up all the different areas of the body.
Try to keep it full of imagery and fun story telling, to wake up brains and to make them excited.
If you are able then introduce some of the trickier footwork from the dance.
Active Storytelling - Use the Bullet point version of the story below
Get them into a circle.
Establish how much they know about The Great Race before you start and adjust your delivery accordingly.
Deliver the story, with plenty of energy and interaction.
Involve the group by using call and response, giving characters actions and gestures (use physicality from choreography) and allow them to ‘colour in’ the story with their ideas IE What colour was the Emperor's Crown?
If they know it well then allow them to fill in some gaps.
You have to tell the story for the dance to make sense, and so in shorter sessions you can’t cut 1 or 4, or save time by using the shorter game and keeping the warm up short.
See example storytelling video at the bottom of this page
Game -Please use the Character command game. Only use People to People if you are running a longer workshop.
The purpose of this exercise is to allow the group to embody and explore the characters, whilst giving them a head start for the choreography.
By using this as your game, you are giving yourself a headstart with the choreography, as the group will be able to get into a circle etc quickly.
Get the children into a space.
Tell the group that you are going to test them to make sure that they are ready to learn the dance, they are going to have to move into position as quickly as possible.
What did the animals have to cross during the race?
THE RIVER!
Set them in the position.
You might need to choose one child to always be at the front and one to always be at the back.
Once you have them in place, ask them to move around the space but when you say go! You will give them 10 seconds to get back into the river position.
Can they do it in 10 seconds?
No they definitely can't? OR can they? (of course they can!)
Count down - show how shocked/ impressed you are.
The people came from near and far to see the RACE,
When you say VILLAGERS ask them to make a straight line as if they are watching the race (or two if space is an issue).
Now ask them if they remember which animal was distracted by the burning village?
THE DRAGON.
Set this up in which ever way you are going to.
Younger groups will need help.
Either one line behind you
Two lines, one behind you, one behind the teacher (check in that this is ok).
OR choose a child / children to lead the line.
Animal Movements
As you work through each of the positions, layer in the animals that are in the choreography between each position.
Just use the basic movement, hands/ arms etc.
Once you have set up each of the characters, pop on some music and run it like a call and response game.
This needs a lot of guidance from you, it isn’t a test, you need to aid them to remember the characters by embodying them yourself in an over the top way.
When they are getting into the shapes/ positions, count them down and act like you are amazed by how quickly they did it.
EMPEROR Movement from Choreography or their own Emperor pose/ move.
CAT Arm movement from Choreography
RAT Arm movement from Choreography
HORSE Arm movement from Choreography
SNAKE Arm movement from Choreography
DRAGON A line (likely to be 3 lines of 10 or groups of 3)
RIVER Diagonal line on knees.
CYMBALS Semi Circle
VILLAGE Find a space.
Teaching Tip - Before you start the choreography, you can run the positions in the order that they come in the dance, so that you have built the structure and the group will know the journey between each position.
Dance - Teach the Choreography as detailed below
KS2 Choreography
Work through the choreography, adding section by section.
Be mindful that you link the sections, as you add.
Try to use strong imagery as opposed to ‘dancer language’ where you can - IE more ‘jump in the pond, jump over the pod’ than ‘legs together, legs apart’.
There are optional ‘CREATIVE TASKS’ within the choreography.
You will find details below.
You don’t need to use all of them (or any of them if not appropriate) but they are there to give you options.
0:00 - 0:00 Starting position
Kneeling on left knee facing R
0:00 - 0:05 Cymbals
Drum from R to L (sunrise to sunset)
0:05 - 0:12 Drumbeat starts
Emperor greets his subjects
(OPTIONAL CREATIVE TASK 1 - THE EMPEROR)
0:12 - 0:16 Alarm gongs
What time is it? Nobody knows!
0:16 - 0:25 Announcing The Great race
Hands on face shout R to L then L to R 2x8
(OPTIONAL CREATIVE TASK 2 - PASS THE MESSAGE )
0:25 - 0:35 Villagers/animals coming far and wide
Box step w marching arms 2x8
(OPTIONAL CREATIVE TASK 3 - CHOICE OF ANIMAL)
0:35 - 0:51 Hooray! We’ll be able to tell time
RLR snap! LRL snap! (OPTIONS FOR FORMATION)
0:51 - 1:08 But first they must race across the great river!
H on R shoulder R arm flow. Using this movement to move into a diagonal line.
1:08 - 1:23 River
Kneeling down in a straight line LH on friends shoulder RH current.
1:23 - 1:25 5678
Move from kneeling to standing
1:25 - 1:29 Cheeky Rat comes in first!
Quick feet, head shake, hands crossed
1:29 - 1:32 Cheeky Rat with hop!
1:32 - 1:36 The cat gets pushed off the ox
Whiskers, cat jump, grouchy face
1:36 - 1:46 Dragon dance
1x8 travel to dragon 2x8 dragon travel
1:46 - 1:53 Snake dance
Feet together palms together snake wiggle
1:53 - 2:00 Horse dance
Arms holding the reins feet rock back and forth
2:01 - 2:05 Rabbit dance
Hop! Hop! And nose wiggle! Hop! Hop!
2:06 - 2:09 Finale!
Jump into final position (Move for animal of the year) for photo and say
Happy New Year!!
KS1 - CHOREOGRAPHY
0:00 - 0:00 Starting position
Standing feet together w warrior arms
0:00 - 0:05 Cymbals
Drum from R to L (sunrise to sunset)
0:05 - 0:12 Drumbeat starts
Emperor greets his subjects
0:12 - 0:16 Alarm gongs
What time is it? Nobody knows!
0:16 - 0:25 Announcing The Great race
Hands on face shout R to L then L to R 2x8
0:25 - 0:35 Villagers/animals coming far and wide
Box step w marching arms 2x8
0:35 - 0:51 Hooray! We’ll be able to tell time
RLR snap! LRL snap!
0:51 - 1:08 But first they must race across the great river!
H on R shoulder R arm flow. Using this movement to move into a diagonal line.
1:08 - 1:23 River
Kneeling down in a straight line LH on friends shoulder RH current.
1:23 - 1:25 5678
Move from kneeling to standing
1:25 - 1:29 Cheeky Rat comes in first!
Quick feet, head shake, hands crossed
1:29 - 1:32 Cheeky Rat with hop!
1:32 - 1:36 The cat gets pushed off the ox
Whiskers, cat jump, grouchy face
1:36 - 1:46 Dragon dance
1x8 travel to dragon 2x8 dragon travel
1:46 - 1:53 Snake dance
Feet together palms together snake wiggle
1:53 - 2:00 Horse dance
Arms holding the reins feet rock back and forth
2:01 - 2:05 Rabbit dance
Hop! Hop! And nose wiggle! Hop! Hop!
2:06 - 2:09 Finale!
Jump into final position (Move for animal of the year) for photo and say
Happy New Year!!
OPTIONAL CREATIVE TASKS - KS2
These are optional and for you to use at your discretion.
Equally if you want to use another option of your own, within the choreographic framework, then go for it - but please don’t change the dance or the workshop.
You don’t need to use all or any of these if it doesn’t feel appropriate.
Obviously it takes slightly longer, so please use when there seems like there is enough time.
Group work will obviously take the longest so it is unlikely you will have them do something in a small group more than once.
0:05 – 0:12 - Drumbeat starts - Emperor greets his subjects
Option 1 As choreo - In unison.
Option 2 All children get to create their own
statue and movement for the Emperor.
Option 3 In groups of 5, they create their own
image & movement for the Emperor.
0:16 – 0:25 - Announcing The Great Race
Option 1 As choreo - In unison.
Option 2 In canon, pass the message from
one end of the room to the other with
a large gesture - either give them the
gesture or allow them to do their
own.
Option 3 In groups/ pairs/ trios - get them to
create their own ‘ANNOUNCING
THE RACE/ PASSING INFO ON
0:25 – 0:35 - Villagers/animals coming from far and wide
Option 1 As choreo - In unison.
Option 2 Using the movement and rhythm as
is, as each child to choose their
favourite animal from the story and
become that animal doing the step.
0:35 – 0:51 - Hooray! We’ll be able to tell the tie!
Option 1 As choreo - In unison.
Option 2 Any version of one coming forward
and one coming back. Either two
groups side by side or every other
person
Training Videos
The following are videos from choreographer, Abigail Huan giving more detail.
Example Story Telling
Use your own skills and style to bring the story to life. Make sure there is plenty of interaction and moments for the young people to join in. If they know the story let them fill in the details. Use gestures from your choreography when telling the story.
WHAT IS THE LUNAR NEW YEAR?
Teaching notes - Information about the celebration of Lunar New Year
The Lunar / Chinese New Year is the main Chinese festival of the year and is celebrated in many east asian countries. As the Chinese use the Lunar calendar for their festivals the date of Chinese New Year changes from year to year. The date corresponds to the new moon (black moon) in either late January or February.
The same calendar is used across many East Asian countries and therefore the celebration is commonly known at The Lunar New Year.
The Lunar calendar is different from that used in the United Kingdom. It is made up of a cycle of twelve years, each of them being named after an animal. Some people believe that people born in a particular year such as the year of the Dog will have some of the characteristics of that animal.
One in every six people in the world celebrate the Lunar/ Chinese New Year. Customs vary in different parts of the world but everywhere the main idea is to remember lost family and wish everyone peace and prosperity in the coming year.
It is thought to be the largest annual human migration, as many people who celebrate the Lunar New Year travel far and wide to spend time with their families.
How is it celebrated?
Traditionally, celebrations last for fifteen days, ending on the date of the full moon.
In China the public holiday lasts for three days and this is the biggest celebration of the year.
The 15-day festival begins with spring cleaning: everyone joins in with cleaning the home ready for the New Year.
The festival is celebrated with:
New clothes
Gifts of money, given in red envelopes, from the older generation to the young.
Special food shared at large family gatherings.
Visiting friends and family.
Parades - including dragon and lion dances
Dragon dances are performed at New Year to scare away evil spirits.
Firecrackers, Fireworks and beautiful lantern displays are seen everywhere.
Everywhere is decorated with lanterns and lights of different sizes.
Children go out in the streets at night with lanterns.
The making of lanterns in China is a tradition which goes back 500 years. Red lanterns are thought of as lucky.