National Nutcracker Lesson 7

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.
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