National Nutcracker Lesson 6

THE CREATIVE CHALLENGE TASK
As discussed at the INSET, you and your dancers
are tasked with creating a dance of no more than
five minutes based on one of the themes below
from The Nutcracker:
1. Visiting faraway lands
2. Transformed by magic
3. Let the battle commence
The core focus of this activity is creative dance.
We have made suggestions about the theme and
the choice of music you might use to allow you to
keep your focus on the development and creation
of your dance. How you manage to develop your
ideas in your dance will be the most important part
of the assessment process.
Midway through, you will submit footage of your
dance so far to the Royal Opera House, with a
brief description of how you have interpreted your
chosen theme. You will then receive feedback
from experts in the field to assist your class in
their preparation for the final submission. This
is also a good opportunity to ask for help on
specific sections of your dance that you may need
guidance/advice with.
Depending upon how much class time and
cross-curricular activity you choose to do, you may
also consider:
• Securing and booking a rehearsal space
• Fitting rehearsal sessions into your school
calendar
• Costume design
• Use of props
• Building sets
Staging your performance
WHAT MAKES A GOOD DANCE
LESSON STRUCTURE?
Warm-up
Creative exploration
Performance
Appreciation and reflection
Cool down
Questions you could ask your dancers after the
lesson could include:
• How did you feel at the beginning/middle/
end of the lesson?
• Which was your favourite part? Why?
• Did you like (insert some example from
the lesson) and if so, why?
• How might we develop the ideas next time?
• What do we need to improve?
• What do you need to improve?
Always include some of the ideas you have relating
to your chosen themes in each warm-up and task.
Record all the dances and moments of
choreography that emerge during your session and
allow yourself time to review it outside the session.
Ask yourself these questions:
• What looks good / what do you enjoy
watching the most?
• What did the children appear to enjoy the
most?
• Which dancers are emerging as particularly
responsible and capable?
Make a note of all these points as this will
help you decide what to do in your
subsequent sessions.
We highly recommend that your class is given the
opportunity to perform in front of a live audience
at your school, as part of a school assembly or the
Christmas show.
PAGE 5

RESOURCES KEY
Digital resource: National
Nutcracker film
Look out for the Arts Award logo
for parts of the programme that
fit with Discover & Explore
Your chosen theme
Choreographic ideas, tasks for
your chosen theme based on your
INSET experience
Music from The Nutcracker –
found in the resources bank on
The Royal Opera House website
A means of capturing and
reviewing the movement material
created during the lesson
Clear empty space, free of
obstructions, such as school hall
Children to wear PE kit and have
bare feet for practical session
Copies of ballet mime images
Record of material created at
previous four lessons
Costumes
PAGE 10

LESSON: FILM, CAMERA, ACTION!
6
LESSON OUTCOMES
To revise and film
the creative dance
as it currently
exists
To continue the
critical evaluation
process with the
children
CREATIVE CHALLENGE PROGRESS
So far you have chosen your theme, developed
ideas through movement, explored some motifs,
considered characters and how to use the space.
All these factors have helped to create your dance.
This week you will film the dance as it is to send
in to the Royal Opera House for feedback and
suggestions which will help you and the class
continue to refine the dance over the next five
weeks.
Please perform the dance to your intended music
for your feedback. If you still haven’t decided, pick
something and let us know that you are unsure of
the final music choice.
RESOURCES NEEDED FOR THE LESSON
©ROH/Johan Persson, 2010

STARTER
In the classroom, watch Episode 6 then ask the
following questions:
• What is another word to describe ‘practising’
your dance?
• What is the name of the character Matthew
plays in The Nutcracker?
WARM UP
COLLECT AND STICK GAME, PLAYED
AT INSET
Music – ‘Waltz of the Snowflakes’ from
The Nutcracker
Teacher declares that dancers should walk through
the space to the music. Usual pace, this is ‘normal
floor’. When the teacher shouts out a body part,
the dancers have to carefully dash about the space
collecting those body parts – so touching as many
elbows as possible with their own elbow, when you
shout ‘stick’ the dancers have to walk around the
room attached to the last person they touched.
CREATIVE EXPLORATION
Take time to watch as much of the movement
work created as possible and begin selecting the
work that you and the children think will best serve
your theme.
Experiment by tying phrases together and getting
the children to learn the successful phrases from
each other.
Film the dance thus far for submission to the ROH
team for helpful support and feedback.
COOL DOWN
Complete a cool down as usual.
Watch the dance so far as a class and evaluate its
strengths and weaknesses:
• What works well?
• What can we do better?
• Are there some ideas that could be
developed or extended?
• What is missing telling our story/theme?
Vary the texture of the floor as you play the next
round, for example imagine the floor is full of
sticky toffee – make sure the dancers alter their
walk to reflect this and also bear it in mind when
they ‘collect the next body part’ and when they are
‘stuck’ to their partner.
Other floor textures you can give:
• Hot coals
• Puddles (dancers jump over puddles)
• Jelly
• Ice
• Quicksand
Ask the dancers for their own suggestion of floor
textures.

TOP TIPS
This week is an exciting session as you will film
your material as it now stands. Even if it does not
fit together as a whole yet or if you don’t have a
definite ending, don’t worry.
Use the opportunity when you send in the footage
to ask the ROH expert team for advice on any
aspect you are having difficulty with. Film the
dance a couple of times during this lesson so you
can decide which version you want to send in to
the ROH.
WANT MORE?
A fun film of a Royal Ballet dancer rehearsing and
preparing for the evening performance of The
Nutcracker – from the point of view of their ballet
shoe!
http://bit.ly/1QCKxx1