Chinese Water Dragons

Chinese Water Dragons (November 13-24, 2015, 4 half days) with Diana Tso, Performing Artist.

Diana took my Grade 2 students through a series of activities related to a Chinese folk tale about a kind, young woman who made lace, and a greedy emperor who tried to empower himself through her talent. The half-day (mornings) would begin with physical and vocal warm-ups, discussions about the tale and about good performing practices, rehearsals, and the creation of water dragons (from recycled fabrics and materials) to be used as props in our final performance. The dragon creation followed a step-by-step process, but was open-ended in that they chose the colours, fabrics, and features of the dragons. The performance was not based on a script, although an outline was created as the scenes were put together, and this outline was provided to the narrator. A lot of practice, and a few warnings about “over-the-top” performing, and how it negatively affects a performance, and we had a spectacular play that told the tale of the Lacemaker, and how the water dragon came to her rescue.