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Training: The Enormous Crocodile
Every Bringing Books To Life dance workshop should include a retelling of the story via an Active Storytelling from the facilitator.
You will need to read the book before you deliver these workshops.
Workshop structure
Introduction - 1minute - Short introduction to the topic.
Warm up - 2-3 minutes - Physical warm up.
Storytelling - 3-5minutes - Interactive bringing the story to life.
Game - 5 minutes - Implementing some choreography and structure from dance.
Dance - 20 minutes - 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 a story.
Why you love books and do they have a favourite?
What story we are discovering/ exploring today?
Keep this introduction short and use it to help understand the groups needs and abilities.
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 can, introduce some of the trickier choreography from the dance.
ACTIVE STORYTELLING (From book)
Get them into a circle.
Establish how much they know about the book 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)
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 cut 1 or 4, or save time by using the shorter game and keeping the warm up short.
CHARACTER / CHOREOGRAPHY SCAFFOLD GAME
Please use the Character command game. Only use games like ‘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.
Split them into three groups.
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.
Tell them they are going to move around the space but when you say 3 groups, they have to come back to their groups in their exact space.
Once you have practised this a few times then move through the characters.
CHARACTER MOVEMENT
Once you have set up the positions, as they move around the space get them to do some different characters and their associated movements that feature in the dance.
Between each one call ‘group’ (or as much as necessary!)
The Enormous Crocodile - Big jaws
Humpy-Rumpy the Hippopotamus - Sumo squat, low walks
Trunky the Elephant - Trunk swing
Muggle Wump the Monkey - Monkey move
Roly-Poly Bird - Flapping, moving like bird
FREEZE FRAMES
Build your group pictures now.
Set each group the picture and give them 2 minutes to come up with the picture
Make suggestions and describe the picture, allowing them create within your structure.
Move from group to group. They need to work quickly, so whilst it’s great to give them creative space, also make sure they are where they need to be within the time frame.
DANCE
KS2 version is below for KS1 keep the choreography the same but remove the group work keeping the students on their own in the space.
OPENING SECTION
2 X 8 Everyone enter as a big scary crocodile.
Encourage them to use their whole bodies and faces.
Does the crocodile move slowly or quickly.
End in their group, facing front.
1 - 4 Slow tummy rub X1
5 - 8 Quick tummy rub X 2
1 - 4 Giant jaw with arms X4, moving from one side to the other.
5 - 6 Wipe mouth
7 - 8 Drop to floor
GROUP 1- HIPPO
Group 1 make still picture 2 x8
Crocodile pretending to be a palm tree, Mary & Toto going to collect coconuts
Group 1 picture moves 2x8
Everyone
1 - 6. Everyone drops into sumo squat, with arms out to side.
1 - 6 2 x slow steps forward
1 - 6 8 fast runs on spot.
1 - 6 Clap hands above head and drop down
GROUP 2 - MONKEY
Group 2 make still picture 2x8
Crocodile pretending to be the see-saw in the playground. Kids playing etc.
Group 2 picture moves 2x8
Everyone
1- 4. Jump into monkey - turned out feet, leaning forward, monkey arms.
5-8 2 X pas de chat (or little jumps to the side)
1- 4. Monkeying around in a circle
5 - 6. Shoving away.
Drop down.
GROUP 3 - ROLY POLY BIRD
Group 3 make still picture 2x8
Crocodile pretending to be one of the seats on the carousel at the fun fair. Kids create carousel and other fairground ideas.
Group 3 picture moves 2x8
Everyone
All groups become the roly poly bird and move around the space pretending to fly, filling the stage area to end in space.
They shoo the crocodile away with hands to one side.
PICNIC TABLE and ELEPHANT CHOREO
1 - 2 Sumo squat, with ‘picnic table arms’, tilted forward.
3- 4 Laugh, holding tummy and body moving to the side and back in circle.
5- 6 Feet together, drink tea - Tip back and forward.
7-8 Scoop up food to mouth, little jump.
1 Step out in lunge, with ‘looking hands’.
2 Transfer weight across, feet together;
3&4. Look slow, look quick, look slow
5. Draw feet together on demi, pull arms above head.
6. Drop down to sumo plie.
7 & 8. Hand food out, across body. Slow, quick. Slow.
1 - 4 Arm that is out becomes trunk.
Drop down and up, flapping trunk X 4
5 -8 Drop down and pick up crocodile in the air.
Spin around with croc in trunk X 2
Pull down and fling it in the air with arms in V