Superstars and Choreography

Phew!  The year 5/6 show is finally over.  The phew is not because it's been hard going or difficult but because now that it's over I can finally tell you about something that has been amusing me for the last 4 weeks of practising. 

I feel a bit of a fraud when I get public praise because it hasn't been hard work at all for me.  The kids I work with are natural show-offs or Superstars, as I prefer to call them.  Their class teachers crack the whip to get them acting and the Head supports by allowing time for rehearsals (so many headteachers don't) and has encouraged all singing all dancing class assemblies since they started school and I just have to teach them how to sing the brilliantly catchy Andrew Oxspring songs.  At the beginning of practising they act like normal 10 and 11 year olds, they don't want to sing or be seen doing anything other than 'cool' in public. Then we sing the songs, ALL THE TIME, over and over again and then I add actions.  I choreograph the life out of those poor songs.  I think a few moves make it more interesting, get the children feeling the pulse and understanding the meaning of the songs.  Getting all children to salute or punch the air with the same arm is a challenge (although not quite as hard as getting them to clap the off beat) but we get there in the end. We spend a good few weeks with them doing whatever actions they want to do before  I choose the best of their ideas.  By the time we come to perform the whole play the songs and actions are second nature and they've forgotten that they spent several weeks bouncing around the music room doing their own thing. Their singing was fantastic, "the best ever!" say the parents (but they say that every year)

There was one move that I left in until the last moment because it made me laugh.  The line they had to sing was, "we find lots of ketchup covers up the taste," and the children were shaking an imaginary bottle of sauce.  I noticed how this looked quite quickly (go on - try it - hold that bottle of imaginary ketchup and shake it up and down - see - a rather rude hand gesture) but it was amusing me so I took a risk and left changing it until the week before.  Luckily, they all remembered to make a fist and slap it in time to the music instead or I probably would be out of a job!