Submitted by Carol Cantrell, North Carolina
Idea posted October 11, 2001
One of the classes got itself together (both girls and boys), created their own dance to Education Rocks!, and came to me to ask if they could do it. Here it is.
"Education Rocks:" Sitting in rank-and-file chairs (borrowed from Kindergarten for sight-line purposes), heads resting on hands, pantomiming class work, they changed heads from one side/hand to another with each phrase on the first verse. On the second verse, they changed hands AND switched crossed legs back and forth with every phrase. On the refrain, they stood up, mimed "talking" (with their hands) the talks, did a march-step for "walking" the walks, punched right hands "up" for "rocks," and rolled their fists in front of their bodies while falling out of line order and rotating around in the space for "rolls." Singers maintained the parts at the split very nicely.
"I Like School:" This was the big hit of the show. Everyone sat silently on the risers. At the first note of the introduction, everyone leaped to their feet, and the self-selected "dancers" did free-fo length to return to the point where they started. The wheelchair student stopped and started, turned circles, and in general rocked around. At the end "I Like School!," they were mid-run to their respective starting places, stopped and froze in place, holding their position. There they waited until I gave two thumbs-up from the director's chair, at which time they broke into great cheers and shouting and ran back to their places on the stage. It was not your father's Buick.
"Information Age:" A line of "computer chip" people across the stage - one to four people chosen from each class. Each had a large football jersey-type numeral on front and back, a zero, and a one on each person. At the start, some were facing backward and some forward. With each word "Information" (which THEY sang), they jumped complete half-turns back and forth so that each changed from one to zero and back and forth repeatedly. Their half-turn jumps were completely random during the parts with the word "Information" repeat (that's what you call the ending), and ended with the smaller of the two (and she was quite small) jumping up in the taller girl's arm as they flung their alternate arms out. Killer. AND the sections MAINTAINED THEIR PARTS. (You may safely assume that my classes do not always exhibit complete integrity when it comes to staying on parts...)
"Never Stop Learning:" Sung straight up, solo by a young student who sings a lot of pop stuff elsewhere, but has never completely distinguished himself within the music program at school because of various problems relating to behavior and cooperation. This was a perfect part for him - range dead on, short, very moving. In the second half of his solo (I let him do both), several other students walked out from the group and stood several feet behind him, "joining" him in the song. The chorus came in on "Children aren't the only ones..." I had intended for the kids to encircle the auditorium and move the circle around gently on the second.
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