Sydney Opera House 2019 Teacher Resources

À O Làng Pho

3 Introduction4 Sydney Opera House Tour5 The Creative Learning Journey6 Sydney Opera House

Creativity Framework7 Performance Description

and Synopsis/Special Post Show Creative Learning Event

8 Director’s Note - Tuan Le

9 Q&A

10 Meet the Creatives

11 About Lune Production 12 Pre Performance Activities 14 Post Performance Activities

15 At the Sydney Opera House

16 Classroom Context and Curriculum Links

19 Keep in touch

In this program

Welcome

Sydney Opera House is one of the indisputable masterpieces of human creativity and has long been a place for learning and sharing knowledge. The land on which Sydney Opera House stands was known to its traditional custodians, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, as Tubowgule, meaning “where the knowledge waters meet”. A stream carried fresh water down from what is now Pitt Street to the cove near Tubowgule, a rock promontory that at high tide became an island. The mixing of fresh and salt waters formed a perfect fishing ground. Middens of shells were a testament to Tubowgule’s long history as a place where the Gadigal gathered, feasted, sung, danced and told stories.

Did You Know…?

- More than 8.2 million people visit the Opera House every year.

- Sydney Opera House is cooled using seawater taken directly from the harbour. The system circulates cold water from the harbour through 35 kilometres of pipes to power both the heating and air conditioning in the building.

- Sydney Opera House was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 20th October, 1973. She has since visited four times, most recently in 2006.

- The Sydney Opera House Digital Creative Learning program allows students from all over the world to access the Sydney Opera House and learn about its history and culture, while also developing skills in literacy, drama and creative writing. Schools in remote locations, interstate or even overseas are able to connect with the Opera House from the comfort of their own classroom, and it’s completely free.

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These Creative Learning Resources have been prepared to help you get the most out of À O Láng Pho. These resources have been collated to help prepare your students unpack the performance and gain the most from their attendance at the production.

Introduction

You should use and adapt these Resources to suit the student age and stage of your class and the curriculum foci and outcomes used in your school. These Resources are written as a creative document for you to bring to life. If you have questions about exercises or provocations please feel free to make contact to talk it through. We are always open to feedback, comments and working with you to assist and learn from you. Contact details are on the back page.

Some websites are suggested throughout this resource. It is recommended that you first visit the sites and assess the suitability of the content for your particular school environment before setting the activities based on these.

Sydney Opera House has a bank of Creative Learning Resources for you to access and use. Please have a look around our website for other resources and activities that could support your classroom learning program.

Acknowledgment Grateful thanks are extended to Perth International Arts Festival who have generously allowed their resources to be included in this document.

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On the day

Arrive early Please ensure that your group arrives at the venue 25 minutes prior to the performance start time. Latecomers may only be admitted to a performance during a suitable break, and in some cases, may be excluded. Please call Front of House on 02 9250 7134 to notify us if you are running late.

School bags Your safety and security is paramount to us during your visit to the Opera House. Therefore, all items larger than the dimensions of a standard A4 piece of paper must be checked in to the cloakroom. As they have limited space, we ask that teachers and students do not bring large bags/backpacks to the performance.

Food and beverage You’ll find food and drinks outlets on the lower level of the concourse. Please note food and drink are permitted inside the foyers, but only bottled water in the venues.

Getting here We are a ten minute walk from Circular Quay, the closest station for public transport via train, bus and ferry. To view timetable information and ensure your public transport needs can be met, please contact Transport NSW on 131500 or transportnsw.info.

Coach parking Buses and coaches can’t park onsite at Sydney Opera House. Large buses must disembark passengers on Macquarie Street. Please contact City of Sydney to confirm bus and coach set down areas. We recommend allowing an additional 10 minutes for walking from Macquarie Street.

We’d like to welcome you to the experience of attending a live performance – while we know you get all the etiquette stuff, here’s a reminder of some simple information you can pass on to your students.

- We ask you to get involved in the performances by applauding and laughing at appropriate moments. If you have a question – ask your teacher at the interval/end of the show or one of the cast, if you have a chance for a Question & Answer session.

- Food and drink is not permitted in the theatre

- Live theatre is different to TV – the actors on stage can hear and see you and there are other members of the audience to think about. If you need to leave the performance for any reason, please ensure this is done quickly and quietly at an appropriate break in the action.

- Switching your phone to silent isn’t the only thing to do. Please ensure that you switch off your mobile phone and leave it in your bag before the performance begins. The glow of an iPhone screen is obvious to others and is very distracting!

At the theatre

Visiting the Sydney Opera House

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Before you arrive On the day Back in the classroom

- Explore the Opera House Book a Guided Tour, for before or after your performance, and explore the venues and spaces of the iconic Sydney Opera House with one of our expert tour guides.

- Question the creatives Enjoy the event and be ready to get involved in the Q&A sessions after the performances with our education specialists, performers, directors and producers.

- Delve deeper For some events, students are able to participate in workshops with the artists and creatives at the Opera House. Check out each performance to see what is available – but space is limited!

- Make a day of it Don’t forget we are located close to a range of cultural institutions. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Museum of Contemporary Art, Museum of Sydney, State Library of NSW, Art Gallery of NSW and Australian Museum offer exhibitions, workshops and more for schools, all within walking distance of Sydney Opera House.

- Continue the creative exploration Bring the creatives to you and participate in one of our digital workshops or digital author talks to further extend the learning journey of your students. Free for all Australian schools and offered throughout the year.

- Listen and watch Use the digital content pieces on our social media channels to gain more insight into the world of Sydney Opera House and the exciting things that happen here.

- Begin your Creative Learning Journey Have your students think about the themes of the performance with information and activities in these Creative Learning Teachers Resources.

- Preparing for your visit Prepare students for your visit with a Digital Tour of Sydney Opera House prior to your theatre excursion. Introduce the story of this place so that your students begin engaging before they arrive. Free for all Australian schools and offered throughout the year.

The Creative Learning Journey

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Sydney Opera House Creativity Framework

These Creative Learning Resources have been written using the Sydney Opera House Creativity Framework as the pedagogy. The Framework aims to define the creative process in a way that educators can use to teach and be inspired by.

At a glance this Creativity Framework is:

Prepare Tools and pathways Preparing mind, body, space, materials and time.

Buy in Presence and enthusiasm Convincing students that they want to be there.

Imagine The fertile unknown Exploring a subject through arts practice. Using form to uncover content.

Allowing uncensored expression to reveal new ways of seeing a subject.

Question Analysis, investigation and revelation Creating new understanding by analyzing what just happened when honing the imagination.

Make Forging form from content Putting shape to content and moving towards a project; scripts, composition, choreography, project design.

Show Commit, frame, judgement Performing and presenting the work.

Reflect Remembering, processing, exiting Creating understanding and healthy memories from the creative process and product.

Whilst written as a sequence, the Sydney Opera House Creativity Framework is not a method or system but a way of articulating the creative process. As the Framework is applied it becomes apparent the sequence dissolves and many of the specific sections live in one exercise. These resources have been written with this in mind.

This Framework underpins the Sydney Opera House Creative Leadership in Learning program that sees schools partner with the House for three years in a program of teacher professional learning, student projects and performances. For more information please see the Sydney Opera House website.

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Thu 13 Jun 11am

$25 per student

85 min

Venue: Joan Sutherland Theatre

Topics for exploration

- Circus

- Bamboo cirque

- Acrobatics and contemporary dance

- Theatrical visual art

- Vietnamese life and culture

Central themes

- Beauty

- Love

- Time

- Urbanisation

- Rhythms of growing up

Cross curriculum priority areas

- Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia

- Sustainability

Performance Description and Synopsis

Years 3–12

Full of laughter, personality, thrills, and imagination, this spellbinding performance has captivated audiences around the world with its enchanting reinvention of traditional circus.

“Làng Pho” which translates as ‘village-city’, shows the rapid growth of rural villages which are set in their peaceful way of life, contrasting the busy sights and sounds of the city.

Featuring a fusion of Vietnamese music and South Vietnamese music and hip hop, the acrobats perform a full range of circus skills including juggling, contortion, and aerial work which all take on a new form with the aid of bamboo and woven baskets.

À O Làng Pho, which means village city, relates to a version of Vietnam that went through an exciting transitional period. The show depicts the charming beauty and cultural richness of Vietnamese life in the countryside, in contrast with the nation’s racing urbanization. The show is a unique mix of bamboo cirque, acrobatic acts, contemporary dance, and theatrical visual art. The live music echoes Vietnamese Southern work songs. All in all, this beautiful blend of genres creates a unique stage language, which well captures the essence of Vietnam’s fascinating culture.

From Vietnam

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Director’s Note – Tuan Le

In 2005, from an artistic creative project to develop new forms of Vietnamese circus, Làng Tôi was born. In 2012, À O Làng Pho came about like a younger brother, inheriting from Làng Tôi, and reaching out to the world. The word “À O” comes from “Làng Pho”, which means “village and city”. It means to convey the contrast between the countryside and the cosmopolitan, between the old and the new. Like urbanisation anywhere else in the world, the cookie cutter motif and the race of modernisation will gradually erase cultural essences and traditions of each particular geographic zone. À O particularly captures Vietnam with all its beauty and authenticity that the creators have actually experienced on this endearing land, and portrays them on stage in the most truthful way

possible. À O also represents a beacon of hope in getting Vietnamese today to look deep into the rich cultural assets they still have and better bond with their fellow countrymen, as well as with nature on this very land that has been nourishing them.

Most of the props and the mise en scène in À O Làng Pho are made of real life tools or modification from daily bamboo and rattan ware that the fishermen and farmers on the central and southern coast of Vietnam used to fish, farm, perform house chores and make their living. The props, which people attach themselves to in daily life rituals, carry with them the essence of Vietnamese culture, the anecdotes, and the philosophical meanings of rural Vietnamese villagers’ and urban residents’ life, their energy, spirit, hope and dreams.

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Is there a strong tradition of circus in Vietnam? Circus was introduced into Vietnam at the beginning of the 20th century. It started with French, Japanese, English and even Mexican circus. There wasn’t really any established tradition of Vietnamese circus until 1956, when the National Vietnamese Circus was founded. Over the last 60 years, Russian, Chinese and French circus (prominent during the colonial period) have all largely influenced Vietnamese circus. The first generation of Vietnamese circus artists were predominantly trained by masters and instructors from Russia and China, but now there is a Vietnam Circus School. Performances have gone from solo acts that featured characters, props and ethnic musical instruments from the local culture’s folklore, to entire circus-based productions that tell a story. Since 2005, government theatres and resident city circus troupes have created children’s productions, drawing on fairy tales, famous stories or foreign literature, combined with famous songs to celebrate particular occasions.

How did Nouveau Cirque du Vietnam come about? After creating the first version of Lang Toi, with the support of the National Circus of Vietnam, Nguyen Lan Maurice, Nguyen Nhat Ly and I formed Lune Production and began touring under the banner of Nouveau Cirque du Vietnam. Tradition is the foundation and inspiration for our creativity and we use contemporary circus techniques to tell our stories. Our vision is to inspire Vietnamese culture and to showcase it to world audiences through quality entertainment. Since we started the company, five of our ‘new circus’ productions have been seen in Vietnam, with two of them – Lang Toi (My Village) and À O Làng Pho– touring to the international stage.

Why do you use circus to tell your stories? Circus is the one genre that is dear to the three creators’ hearts, one that we are all passionate about. Circus is the medium, the technique and the bridge to transfer the visuals and messages that we want to communicate to audiences. Performance today has so much going on in terms of music, lighting, props and set, but the most crucial thing is still portraying the artists’ true emotions and ideals on stage. Our work goes beyond entertaining – we are sharing and bonding with the audience.

What props and materials are used in this production? Most of the props and the scenery in À O Làng Pho are made from real life tools or a modification of the bamboo and rattan ware that is commonly used by fishermen and farmers in Vietnam. These are the same materials used daily to fish, farm, perform house chores and make a living. The props, with their obvious connection to daily life and ritual, carry with them the essence of Vietnamese culture. In the show, they represent the life of rural Vietnamese villagers, their energy, spirit, hope and dreams as they are increasingly drawn into an urban world.

Can you tell us something about the ‘Cai luong’ music that is featured in the show? ‘Cai luong’ is better described as a form of sung drama than a music style. It can be viewed as the new form of ‘Dan ca tai tu’, which was a traditional improvised musical form usually performed by amateurs. During the time of French colonialisation ‘Cai luong’ was born from the mix of ‘Dan ca tai tu’ and the classical theatre brought to Vietnam by the French. ‘Cai luong’ has also been largely influenced by Chinese Opera and in fact is sometimes referred to as Vietnamese Opera.

Q&A with the Director and Musical Director – Taun Le and Nguyen Nhatly

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Tuan Le – Director Tuan Le started his stage career with juggling at the age of six under his brother’s coaching. At 14 years old, he travelled to Berlin and soon after joined Ufa Fabrik as a juggling artist. There he received many accolades and was the first and only Vietnamese artist to sign a long-term contract with Cirque du Soleil and, as a solo artist, to perform at Broadway Beacon Theater NYC and Toronto Cannon Theater. He is also the first person of Asian descent to receive the Award of Excellence from the IJA in Spark. His many shows include Dinner & Dreams with Teatro ZinZanni and Banana Shpeel with Cirque du Soleil. Làng Tôi, À O Làng Pho and Teh Dar are his most important works that embody Vietnamese culture.

Nguyen Nhat Ly – Musical Director Nhat Ly was born in France but spent his childhood in Vietnam. He holds a Bachelor Degree of Music from Paris VIII University. Ly was co-founder and first president of Art Ensemble, an organisation that educates Asian children about traditional music. Considering himself as “having more Vietnamese than French blood”, Ly has a special love for the rich culture and heritage of Vietnam. He has collaborated on various unique performances such as Làng Tôi, Gio Binh Minh, Trao Doi and earned praises from both local and international critics. He founded a music lab studio, Phusa Lab, near the West Lake in Hanoi.

Nguyen Lân Maurice – Artistic Director Coming from the same family as Musical Director Nhat Ly, Nguyen Lân spent his childhood being trained at the National Circus School in Vietnam. As the family moved back to France in 1985, Nguyen Lân started to perform with Cirque Plume before becoming Artistic Director of circus school Arc en Cirque in Chambéry, France. With support from Tuan Le and Nhat Ly, the very first version of Làng Tôi, this group’s first cultural show, was conceptualised, and Nguyen Lân was training director for Làng Tôi, À O Làng Pho and Teh Dar.

Nguyen Tan Loc – Choreographer A former choreographer and dancer at Ho Chi Minh City Puppet Theater, Ho Chi Minh City Symphony and Orchestra Theater, Tan Loc was awarded a scholarship to study at Fujisato Ballet School in Tokyo, Japan. In 2008, he founded Arabesque Dance Company to develop a contemporary dance language that combines traditional dance and classical ballet. Arabesque has produced artistic and culturally rich productions such as The Stories Of Shoes, Moc and The Mist. His latest choreography is for Toruk, an Avatar inspired production of Cirque du Soleil.

Meet the C

reatives

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About Lune Production with Théâtre Sénart – Scène nationale

With this commitment, Lune Production has had the honor to work with many internationally renowned artists, known for their talents and integrity. Tuan Le, the director of signature Lune Production spectacles such as Lang Toi, À O Show, came from Cirque du Soleil, with an accolade of many solo awards and great shows he himself directed such as Banana Spheel. Nhat Ly, the artist behind the mesmerizing music of Lune’s features, cofounded Art Ensemble, co-organized the festival “Cities of Ethnic Music” in France and programs such as ‘Wind of the dawn’, which earned much praises from critics. Nguyen Lan Maurice, who carries years of experience at Cirque Plume, and as artistic director of Arc en Cirque in France, leads the training of Lune’s performers with disruptive methods to rid old habits and evoke creativity.

Tan Loc, the most recognized choreographer in Vietnam, with training in Japan, directed The Mist and choreographed many Lune Production’s shows, together with award winning choreographers Nguyen Ngoc Anh and

Ngo Thanh Phuong. These creators share one dream of finding Vietnam’s cultural heritage. And after years working and living overseas, they came back together at Lune Production, to preserve and bring out these cultural values in performances they create.

From Lang Toi to Á O Show, to The Mist, their creation has toured the world and received much love and applause from audience and critics alike. Embracing the arts and cultural diversity, Lune Production and its people aim to keep their momentum going, commit to thorough cultural research, and constantly work hard to offer audience cultural products of quality.

From luneproduction.com

Lune Production was founded in 2012 with the vision to inspire cultural world heritage, especially Vietnamese cultural values, to world audience. The company since then has set its mission to develop world class entertainment products, especially performances, that best convey these values.

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Pre Performance Activities

Have students reflect on the types of movements executed by circus performers, e.g. Jumps, leaps, rolls, lifts, falls, tumbles, stretches, etc.

Is the same vocabulary of movement involved across all circus acts?

Consider the importance of warming up one’s body prior to activity. What are the dangers for an inadequately warmed up body? Would a circus performer’s warm-up be appropriate for other athletes? Vice versa?

Have students design and create a warm-up appropriate to the types of movement and muscle groups involved in a circus performance.

Students can be given the option of creating their warm-ups to music. Have students teach their warm-ups to one another.

Alternatively: after discussing the importance of warming up to protect one’s body, have students design and then conduct warm-ups for specific

occupations or activities, eg. Footballer, cleaner, golfer, tennis player, swimmer, bricklayer, gardener, etc.

In the sydney opera house ‘how to’ series 14-year-old asha shows us how to perform a range of circus skills. Watch and try with your students.

youtube.com/watch?v=x3kcezilL8E

Sweet skills: How to perform circus skills

Designing warm ups

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Note: students need to be made aware of safety issues, and act responsibly when lifting and balancing with others. When trying different balances, have students spot for one another. Spotting is standing by to assist a performer as they practice or execute a trick.

In small groups, practice simple balances. Balances such as low pyramids with students on all fours are generally a safe challenge. Be sure to do these on gym mats or on soft grass.

Other balances to try:

- Pairs sitting and standing, all the while leaning back to back;

- Pairs standing side by side, holding hands and leaning away from one another without stepping out.

“Circus in a suitcase” by reg bolton is a useful reference for this work. Organise students into small groups of different numbers, e.g. 3-6. Using their bodies, each group is to make several still shapes or balances (tableaux), each of which must involve the entire group. View the shapes created.

Have each group choose 4 of their own tableaux, and decide on an order in which to perform them. Suggest making the most spectacular one be #4.

Using a tambour, beat a slow regular rhythm and ask students to be in each of their 4 balance-tableaux positions by count 8 of every 8 beats. e.g. Using counts 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 to move into the next tableaux.

Give groups some time to consider and rework how they might move between their tableaux (on counts 1,2,3,4,5,6,7) for maximum effect. In addition, have groups create an entrance for themselves into a performance space.

Allow students to use music if they wish to. Perform these balancing acts.

View this short (5 mins, 20 seconds) BBC travel documentary with the creators and the artists of the Á O Show about Vietnam circus and the bamboo circus culture to provide insight into À O Làng Pho, where it came from and the type of performance it is based on.

bbc.com/travel/story/20160419-a-circus-built-from-bamboo

Research Vietnam and create a fact sheet with as much interesting information as possible about the country, the culture and its people.

Working individually or in small groups, have students research an area of circus that interests them (history of circus, specific acts, circus companies and troupes, training school and institutions, animals in circus, etc.).

Have students present findings in a medium of your choice.

Balancing act

Research A circus built from bamboo

Everyday life, rural life and urban life in vietnam

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Brainstorm Have students write down their initial thoughts after watching À O Làng Pho. They may wish to do this in a brainstorm format.

Use the questions below to assist with the generation of thoughts and ideas:

- What did the piece make you feel? What specifically about the performance made you feel this way? Consider the movement style, the costumes, music, set and lighting.

- What did the piece make you think about? Consider the movement style, the costumes, music, set, props and lighting.

- What culturally symbolic movements are evident in this performance?

- What was your favourite moment in the performance? Why?

- What was your least favourite moment? Why?

Comparing reviews Read the following professional reviews of À O Làng Pho from the Perth International Arts Festival and Auckland Arts Festival seasons:

John Michael Swinbank – The West Australian

Heather Blakey – Arts Review

Paul Simei-Barton – NZ Herald

Write 300 words to compare the contrasts between your own opinions and the reviews provided. Discuss both similarities and differences in your opinions and why you believe these have occurred.

Things to ponder upon and research further - What is Bamboo Circus, its origins,

its current popularity, and how does it reflect the culture of its region?

- Investigate the role of performance in transmitting cultural information, such as advocating change in relation to contemporary issues (for example, land degradation or urbanisation).

- What are the traditions, customs and conventions of this performance? How does this performance draw from other cultures, times and places?

- What is the cultural context in which the performance was developed, or in which it is viewed, and what does it signify?

- How does this performance relate to its social context and that of its makers and audiences?

- What historical forces and influences are evident in the performance?

- How does this style of performance vary from those seen in other traditions and other parts of the world?

- What is the cultural context in which this performance was developed, or in which it is viewed, and what does it signify?

- What are the stylistic differences in circus performances from different countries?

Reviews The West Australian by John Michael Swinbank . 9 Jan 2017. Cirque du vietnam shows a country in transition thewest.com.au/entertainment/piaf/cirque-du-vietnam-shows-a-country-in-transition-ng-b88348803z

Arts Review by Heather Blakey. 20 Feb 2017. Piaf: À O Làng Pho nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=12014232

Post Performance Activities

At the Sydney Opera House

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Beneath the sails, six venues host a staggering variety of performances. More than 2000 events are held 363 days a year; that’s more than 40 shows a week.

From our largest, the Concert Hall, right through to our most intimate, the Utzon Room, our venues host a vast range of shows, from harpsichord music to hard rock, lectures to electronica, circus to opera and everything in between.

Our stages have been graced by every kind of royalty - actual, intellectual, showbiz, even punk-rock. Opera stars, world movers and shakers, dancers and performers of extraordinary talent play to rapturous audiences in every space.

These are rooms for standing ovations, shared moments and treasured inspirations. To see a show at the Sydney Opera House is to enter a space filled with the crackling energy of great artists and entertainers.

À O Làng Pho is staged in the Joan Sutherland Theatre

You’ll find the Joan Sutherland Theatre under the second largest sail of the Opera House. The great Australian soprano for whom the theatre is named, Dame Joan

Sutherland, was dubbed ‘La Stupenda’ and the ‘voice of the century’ for her performances of beauty and power.

The Joan Sutherland Theatre is our second largest venue with seats for more than 1500 guests. It’s our largest proscenium arch theatre with an orchestra pit accommodating up to 70 musicians. Home to year-round performances from our Resident Companies Opera Australia and The Australian Ballet, the theatre also stages musicals, talks, comedy, circus and contemporary music. Famous faces to take the spotlight in this room include Yoko Ono, Kraftwerk, Sir Robert Helpmann, Deborah Cheetham, and of course Dame Joan Sutherland herself.

Unusually, the theatre has notably shallow ‘wing’ space (the space out of view on the sides of the stage, where scenery and performers gather prior to moving onto the stage). Rather than the scenery moving in from the sides, it is elevated up onto stage level by to two large lifts in the floor.

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Subject Stage Content Objective OutcomeDance Stage 2 Elements: action,

dynamics, time, space, relationships and structure

Appreciating DAS2.3 Gives personal opinions about the use of elements and meaning in their own and others’ dances.

Stage 3 Contexts Elements: action, dynamics, time, space, relationships and structure

Appreciating DAS3.3 Discusses and interprets the relationship between content, meaning and context of their own and others’ dances.

Stage 4 Dance as an Artform

Elements of Movement

Dance Composition 4.2.1 identifies and explores aspects of the elements of dance in response to a range of stimuli

Dance Appreciation 4.3.1 describes dance performances through the elements of dance

4.3.2 identifies that dance works of art express ideas

Stage 5 Dance as an Artform

Elements of Movement

Dance Composition 5.2.1 explores the elements of dance as the basis of the communication of ideas

Contexts: Art Music of the 20th and 21st Centuries, Popular Music, Theatre Music, Music of a Culture

Dance Appreciation 5.3.1 describes and analyses dance as the communication of ideas within a context

5.3.2 identifies and analyses the link between their performances and compositions and dance works of art

5.3.3 applies understandings and experiences drawn from their own work and dance works of art

Stage 6 Preliminary

Appreciation: Introduction to dance analysis

Appreciation: dance analysis in practice — works from Australian and international choreographers

Dance as an Artform P1.1 understands dance as the performance and communication of ideas through movement and in written and oral form

P1.2 understands the use of dance terminology relevant to the study of dance as an artform

P1.4 values the diversity of dance as an artform and its inherent expressive qualities

Dance Appreciation P4.1 understands the socio-historic context in which dance exists

P4.2 develops knowledge to critically appraise and evaluate dance

Stage 6 HSC

Appreciation: Skills of analysis

Dance as an Artform H1.1 understands dance from artistic, aesthetic and cultural perspectives through movement and in written and oral form

H1.3 appreciates and values dance as an artform through the interrelated experiences of performing, composing and appreciating dances H1.4 acknowledges and appreciates the relationship of dance and other media

Dance Composition H3.3 recognises and values the role of dance in achieving individual expression

Dance Appreciation H4.1 understands the concept of differing artistic, social and cultural contexts of dance

H4.5 acknowledges that the artform of dance is enhanced through reflective practice, study and evaluation

This performance provides the classroom teacher with many opportunities for learning activities that link to the New South Wales curriculum. See below for the suggested links to the relevant syllabus, however creative teachers will find many more.

Classroom Context and Curriculum Links

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Subject Stage Content Objective OutcomeDrama Stage 2 Elements of Drama

Drama Forms: Movement, Contemporary Circus

Appreciating DRAS2.4 Responds to, and interprets drama experiences and performances

Stage 3 Elements of Drama

Drama Forms: Movement, Contemporary Circus

Appreciating DRAS3.4: Responds critically to a range of drama works and performance styles

Stage 4 Elements of Drama

Dramatic Contexts: Theatre from Asia, Intercultural Drama and Theatre, Dance Theatre, Movement

Making 4.1.1 identifies and explores the elements of drama to develop belief and clarity in character, role, situation and action

Performing 4.2.3. explores and uses aspects of dramatic forms, performance styles, theatrical conventions and technologies to create dramatic meaning

Appreciating 4.3.1 identifies and describes elements of drama, dramatic forms, performance styles, techniques and conventions in drama

4.3.2 recognises the function of drama and theatre in reflecting social and cultural aspects of human experience

Stage 5 Elements of Drama

Dramatic Contexts:

Theatre from Asia, Intercultural Drama and Theatre, Dance Theatre, Movement

Making 5.1.4 explores, structures and refines ideas using dramatic forms, performance styles, dramatic techniques, theatrical conventions and technologies.

Performing 5.2.2 selects and uses performance spaces, theatre conventions and production elements appropriate to purpose and audience

Appreciating 5.3.1 responds to, reflects on and evaluates elements of drama, dramatic forms, performance styles, dramatic techniques and theatrical conventions

5.3.2 analyses the contemporary and historical contexts of drama

Stage 6 Preliminary

Elements of Production in Performance

Theatrical Traditions and Performance Styles: Dance Theatre/ Movement

Making P1.4 understands, manages and manipulates theatrical elements and elements of production, using them perceptively and creatively

Performing P2.1 understands the dynamics of actor-audience relationship

P2.2 understands the contributions to a production of the playwright, director,

dramaturg, designers, front-of- house staff, technical staff and producers

P2.6 appreciates the variety of styles, structures and techniques that can be used in making and shaping a performance

Critically Studying P3.2 understands the variety of influences that have impacted upon drama and theatre performance styles, structures and techniques

P3.3 analyses and synthesises research and experiences of dramatic and theatrical styles, traditions and movements

P3.4 appreciates the contribution that drama and theatre make to Australian and other societies by raising awareness and expressing ideas about issues of interest

Stage 6 HSC

Studies in Drama and Theatre

Making H1.3 uses knowledge and experience of dramatic and theatrical forms, styles and theories to inform and enhance individual and group devised works

Performing H2.4 appreciates the dynamics of drama as a performing art

Critically Studying H3.1 critically applies understanding of the cultural, historical and political contexts

that have influenced specific drama and theatre practitioners, styles and movements

H3.3 demonstrates understanding of the actor-audience relationship in various dramatic and theatrical styles and movements

H3.4 appreciates and values drama and theatre as significant cultural expressions of issues and concerns in Australian and other societies

H3.5 appreciates the role of the audience in various dramatic and theatrical styles and movements

Classroom Context and Curriculum Links

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Learning Across The Curriculum

Classroom Context and Curriculum Links

Australian curriculum general capabilities

Cross curriculum priorities Other important learning

Intercultural understanding

Critical and creative thinking

Ethical understanding

Personal and social capability

Literacy

Numeracy

Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia Sustainability

Difference and diversity

Civics and citizenship

Work and enterprise

Keep in touch

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