KS2 Music / Dance / Drama / History: World War 1 Performance Pack - 'Archie Dobson's War'. Dance - Part 1: Countdown to war

School Radio > School Plays / Musicals > WW1 Performance Pack

The dance activities in this programme begin by contrasting 'town' and 'country' in the summer of 1914. There are also some simple steps to learn from a contemporary dance called 'The Castle Walk' before the declaration of war takes us to the parade ground for some military drill steps.

The activities in the programme can be used to support your on-going work in dance at Key Stage 2. They also support a performance of our play 'Archie Dobson's War', commemorating the outbreak of World War 1.

Summary

Warm-up

Marching to a regular beat – on the spot, and then travelling round the room.

Sequence 1: Working hard in the country or the town

Half the class perform strong, sustained, crop-scything actions inspired by Edwardian farm workers while the other half perform quick, light, repetitive movements inspired by workers operating machinery in a bustling Edwardian factory.

Sequence 2: Masters and servants

Half the class are rich, 'important'masters showing off 'The Castle Walk' dance around the edge of the room, while the other half are the busy servants – rushing here and there to polish, scrub or dust!

Sequence 3: Soldier training

Alone, in pairs, and then in groups of 4; march forwards together in evenly spaced formation, with quarter turns (90degrees) to the right or left, and half turns (180 degrees) to face the opposite direction.

Cool down

Gentle stretches and balances.

Resources

• Transcript of Dance 1 - 'Countdown to war'

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