Music Teaching Idea Display

Submitted by Wynne Alexander, Decatur, Mississippi

Idea posted March 15, 2005

This choreography for "I Can't Stand Still Under Those Raindrops" from Music K-8, Vol. 6, No. 4 works best with a smaller group of dancers. If you have more students than that, I would suggest having nine or ten of your best dancers with umbrellas in front of the risers to do the choreography. We did this about two years ago, and it was great! I got umbrellas from Fred's, two of each in yellow, pink, blue, and red, and one lavender. (I only had nine to perform the routine.)

"I Can't Stand Still Under Those Raindrops" Choreography

Assign numbers down the line. ONES and TWOS will have motions. All other students can just stand still or do their own thing.

A Section:

Intro:

Tuck the closed umbrella under right arm; step into line for eight beats. Half of the students could enter from one side of stage, other half of students from the other side of the stage.
Turn front hold umbrella at waist (4 beats).
Push umbrella open one at a time and keep at waist level (9 beats).
Raise over head on count 12.
Step right on "I," left foot behind; repeat to "raindrops."
Freeze and hold left palm out on "raindrops."
Step left on "I," right behind; repeat to "sky."
Freeze and point left hand up on "sky."
Grab umbrella with both hands and twist left, right, left on "No, no, oh!"
ONES step up right, left, back, right, left. (TWOS stand still.)
Pat leg two times on "Rhythm," then snap fingers two times.
Reverse all with TWOS stepping up this time.
"Ooh!": scoop left hand forward, turning body sideways.
Face front again; grab umbrella with both hands on "rain."
Twist on "fallin'" left, right, left.
Reverse scoop (swap hands).
Hold umbrella still on "fallin"; on "down" put down in front of waist.
Twist on "Yeah, yeah!" left, right, left.
On "When," raise umbrella over head and touch right heel front, then left, two times.
Freeze and wipe left.
On "ground," ONES turn right, TWOS turn left holding umbrella waist level and scoot backwards.

B Scat Section:

Group B (right half of kids) copies Group A for each line.
Group A (left half of kids) - tap umbrella on floor on "tik, tik, tikka."
Group A - Flip umbrella towards face and back "plip plop."
Group A - Twist side to side on "Bop, bop."
Group A - Draw two large circles clockwise on "Do ba do ba."
Group A - Spin umbrella waist level on "Span nan nan."
Group A - Push forward then back two times on "Poom poom."
Group A - Raise umbrella up high and lower over head two times on "Drippa drippa."

On "boom ba doom doo," both groups start the "inside out snake."

A Section and Coda:

Repeat first section until "ground." Spin body all the way around.
"I can't stand still": every other person walk around another (like swapping places and back again, always facing audience).
"My feet": left out to side; freeze. "My feet," right out to side; freeze two times.
"Dry": each color lowers umbrella to waist. Red, yellow, blue, lavender, pink (4 beats), down (4 beats).
My "feet just won't let me": tiptoe run in place right, left, right, left.
On "No," collapse all at once. Pink umbrellas to the center, lavender umbrellas kneel, blue umbrellas bend at waist, yellow umbrellas stand with umbrellas at waist, and red umbrellas over head and arms out to side.
Outside peoples' outside hands up.

I Can't Stand Still Under Those Raindrops Choreography

"I Can't Stand Still Under Those Raindrops" Choreography