Cinderella Student Matinee 2012 Study Guide

Photo: David Toczko, Lone Dakota Photography Dancer: Erica De La O
Cinderella
Sponsored by
Student Matinee
2012 Study Guide
www.louisvilleballet.org
© 2012 Louisville Ballet
Table of Contents
Introductory Activities…………………………………………..2
(Adaptable for all Grade Levels)
The Synopsis of the Ballet……………………………………..3-4
Coloring Pages…………………………………………………5-7
Cinderella and the Fairy Godmother
Ugly Stepsister
Cinderella and the Prince
Design Your Own Costume………...…………………………8-9
Female Figure
Male Figure
About the Choreographer, Alun Jones………………………..10
About the Composer, Serge Prokofiev………………………...11
Who’s Who at the Ballet?......................................................12-13
(Adaptable for all Grade Levels)
Core Content Vocabulary & Basic Choreographic Forms…..14
(Adaptable for all Grade Levels)
A Choreographer’s Role………………………………………..15
(5th grade – High School)
Basic Ballet Terms & Positions………………………….....16-17
Responding to Dance Chart……………………………………18
(Post Activity)
1
Introductory Activities
(Adaptable for all Grade Levels)
The following are selections of introductory activities that will familiarize students with
aspects of the performance that they will see.
Story Familiarity
Read the full synopsis of Cinderella to students. Ask students to relate the story to other
stories that they are familiar with. In addition, encourage students to relate aspects of
Cinderella to their own lives.
Dance and Drama: What is a Ballet?
Discuss what a ballet is. Are there speaking parts? How is a story told? Who decides
how the dancers tell a story? How do dancers learn their parts?
Art, Language Arts & Music: Listen, Draw, Write:
Play selections of music from Cinderella by Prokofiev. Ask students to draw images
that could go along with the music. Let students know that there are no incorrect
responses. Ask students to write for two-minutes responding to the question, what does
the music sound like and what does the music make them think about?
Recommended excerpts:
Cinderella Dreams of the Ball, Clock Scene, Cinderella Arrives at the Ball, Duet of the
Prince and Cinderella
Dance: Basic Ballet Steps
Introduce a small sample of commonly used steps to students. Familiarity with basic
steps will provide students of all age’s reference points to enjoy the performance. Some
impressive steps that are used frequently in a ballet performance are listed in the Basic
Ballet Terms & Positions section of this study guide.
Math: Shape, Lines and Patterning
Discuss a variety of shapes and line patterns that are frequently used in ballet
choreography. Some line patterns include diagonal lines (or oblique lines), parallel lines,
perpendicular lines, grid formation and staggered formation. Some shape formations
include circular, square, triangular and pentagonal. Sometimes formations may also look
like an object, like a flower or star. Have students watch for these patterns and
formations throughout the performance.
2
The Synopsis of the Ballet
Cinderella
Louisville Ballet will present Cinderella
as a 67-minute student matinee
performance with one 15-minute
intermission. We ask that your students
remain in their seats for this intermission
while we open the curtains so that they
may enjoy the magic of the backstage
transformation.
Photo: David Toczko, Lone Dakota Photography
Dancers: Erica De La O & Kristopher Wojtera
In order to present Cinderella as a 67-minute student matinee, certain scenes have been
omitted. The performance will begin with a brief synopsis of Act I. The dancers will
then perform Act II & Act III, starting with Cinderella’s entrance to the Ball. For
continuity, we ask that you share the entire synopsis of the ballet with your students prior
to the performance.
ACT I WILL NOT BE SEEN AS PART OF THE STUDENT MATINEE
Act I – Scene I: The Kitchen in Cinderella’s House
It is evening and Cinderella’s stepsisters are embroidering a silk scarf. The father enters
with three invitations to the Prince’s ball – two for the stepsisters and one for Cinderella.
When the father leaves the room, the stepsisters tear up Cinderella’s invitation and throw
it in the fire!
Cinderella has been gathering wood for the fire. She enters, takes up a broom and moves
wistfully about the room.
The stepsisters, still quarreling, come back into the room. Suddenly, strange lights fill the
room and a beggar woman enters. Cinderella sits the old woman by the fire, puts a pair
of slippers on her feet and gives her the wood that she brought into the house.
The old woman departs and preparations for the ball begin. When everything is ready,
the stepsisters depart for the castle leaving Cinderella alone.
Once again the theme of the old woman is heard, but when the door is opened Cinderella
sees that the old woman has changed into her fairy godmother! Suddenly, Cinderella
finds herself in a magical garden.
Act I – Scene II: The Magic Garden
Fairies representing the four seasons dance for Cinderella. With her Fairy Godmother’s
warning that she must leave the ball before midnight, Cinderella departs in a crystal coach
escorted by the fairies and a multitude of stars.
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WE PICK UP OUR STORY HERE:
Act II: The Ball
The ballroom is filled with stars and four masked ladies enter, the fairies disguised as
mortals, herald Cinderella’s entrance. The prince cannot take his eyes off Cinderella and
dances with her. The court is curious about her identity. No one knows who she is, least
of all the ugly stepsisters, and all assume that she is a visiting princess.
The ball continues and the guests are presented with oranges. The stepsisters fight over
the larger of two oranges, after which the ballroom is left empty. The prince and
Cinderella are then briefly alone. They have fallen in love at first sight and dance
together to declare their love.
When the guests return, the court festivities continue. But at the height of the celebration,
the clock strikes twelve. Cinderella, terrified, flees the castle. The prediction of the Fairy
Godmother is fulfilled. Cinderella is again dressed as a kitchen maid. Only the glass
slippers remain, one of which she loses as she dashes home. The prince, as he pursues her,
finds it and comforts himself that to find the girl he loves all he has to do is find the owner
of the slipper.
– INTERMISSION –
Act III – Scene I: The Kitchen in Cinderella’s House
Waking up the next morning, Cinderella
recalls the splendid ball and her meeting
with the Prince but decides that it all must
have been a dream. She finds the glass
slipper and realizes that it was not a dream
after all. The stepsisters tell of the fine
time they had at the ball and how
“popular” they were.
Noise from the street heralds the arrival of
the Prince, who is going from house to
house in search of the unknown girl he
Photo: David Toczko, Lone Dakota Photography
met at the ball. When he enters Cinderella’s Dancers: Robert Dunbar & Morgan Hulen
house, both stepsisters try in vain to wear the glass slipper. In desperation to get the slipper to
fit her foot, one stepsister attempts to cut off her toe. To prevent this, Cinderella produces the
other slipper. The Prince recognizes her as the girl he seeks and asks her to marry him.
Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother appears and blesses the couple.
Act III – Scene II: The Magic Garden
The Fairies and stars await the arrival of Cinderella and the Prince. They celebrate their
reunion and live happily ever after.
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5
6
7
Design Your Own Costume
Female FigureCinderella’s Ball Gown, Stepsister, or the Fairy Godmother
8
Design Your Own Costume
Male FigurePrince
9
About the Choreographer
Alun Jones
Alun Jones was born in South Wales. He
studied music for nine years and received
awards and diplomas for excellence in piano
playing. He graduated from the
Monmouthshire College of Arts and Crafts
with a degree in design.
Mr. Jones ballet training began with Myra
Silcox in Pontypool, Wales. From there, he
went to the Ballet Rambert School, where he
studied with Dame Marie Rambert, D.B.E.,
Angela Ellis, Eileen Ward and Errol Addison.
He made his professional debut with the
Welsh National Opera Company in Faust, La
Traviata and May Night. In 1960 he joined the London Festival Ballet, which toured
throughout Europe and the Near East.
After briefly dancing with the ballet company of the Zurich Opera House in Switzerland,
Mr. Jones rejoined the London Festival Ballet in 1966, specializing in character roles in
the major classical ballets. As a founding member of the New London Ballet, Mr. Jones
toured Europe and the Orient. As technical director, he toured the U.S. with Dame
Margot Fonteyn D.B.E. After a year as Assistant Artistic Director to the Irish National
Ballet, he returned to the U.S. as guest teacher and choreographer with Margo Marshall’s
City Ballet of Houston.
Mr. Jones was the Artistic Director of the Louisville Ballet from 1978 to 2002 and for 5
years was also the Executive Director. He has a degree in design from the University of
Wales, Newport and diplomas and awards from the London College of Music. In 1998 he
was given the Milner Award (Kentucky’s highest award in the arts). During his 24 year
tenure as Artistic Director, the repertoire consisted of 78 world premieres and 65
Louisville premieres, eleven of these were full-length ballets. Included were ten ballets
by George Balanchine, nine by Antony Tudor and works by such notable choreographers
as Sir Frederick Ashton, Andree Howard, John Crankco, Kurt Jooss, Paul Taylor, Choo
San Goh and many others. His own works included Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella, Peter
Pan, The Merry Widow and Lucy. His ballets have been performed in 24 states, as well as
Bermuda, England, Portugal, Spain, India, South Africa, Hong Kong and Japan.
He has been a site visitor, evaluating companies for the N.E.A, Ohio Arts Council,
Southern Arts Federation and the Tennessee Arts Commission. For the past six years, he
has served on the jury for the European Stage Dance Union contest in Croatia and as a
member of the International Dance Council in Greece.
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About the Composer
Serge Prokofiev
Born in Sontsovka,Ukraine on April 23,
1891, Serge Prokofiev showed precocious
talent as a pianist and composer. In 1904
he entered the St. Petersburg
Conservatory, where Rimsky-Korsakov,
Lyadov and Tcherepnin were among his
teachers; Tcherepnin and Myakovsky,
who gave him valuable support,
encouraged his interest in Skryabin,
Debussy and Strauss. He made his debut
as a pianist in 1908, quickly creating
something of a sensation as an enfant
terrible, unintelligible and ultra-modern – an image he was happy to cultivate. His
intemperateness in his early piano pieces, and later such works as the extravagantly
romantic Piano Concerto no. 1 and the ominous no. 2, attracted attention. He left the
conservatory in 1914 and traveled to London, where he heard Stravinsky’s works and
gained a commission from Diaghilev. The resulting score was, however, rejected (the
music was used to make the Scythian Suite) a second attempt, Chout, was not staged until
1921.
Meanwhile, he finished an opera on Dostoyevskt’s Gambler in 1917, a violently involved
study of obsession far removed from the fantasy of his nearly contemporary Chicago
opera The Love of Three Oranges, written in 1919 and performed in 1921. His pace
slowed as he worked on his opera The Fiery Angel, an intense, symbolist fable of good
and evil. (It had no complete performance until after his death.)
Romeo and Juliet, the full-length ballet commissioned for the Bolshoi, had its premiere at
Brno in 1938 and only later became a staple of the Soviet repertory; its themes of
aggression and romantic love provided a receptacle for Prokofiev’s divergent impulses.
In 1936 he again settled in Moscow and created a mix of incidental music for children’s
entertainment titled Peter and the Wolf.
With the outbreak of war he worked on more patriotic pieces such as Symphony No. 5,
three piano sonatas (Nos. 6-8) and operatic setting of the scenes from Tolstoy’s War and
Peace. He also worked on a full-length ballet, Cinderella. In 1946 he retired to the
country; and though he went on composing, the works of his last years have been
regarded as a quiet coda to his output. Even his death was overshadowed by that of
Stalin on the same day, March 5, 1953.
11
Who’s Who at the Ballet?
(Adaptable for all Grade Levels)
As a member of the audience, you see the dancers on the stage. But it takes many, many
more dedicated and talented people to get the dancers to the stage. Behind the scenes and
out of sight a variety of talented people play an important role.
Here are a few of the people backstage at the ballet:
BEFORE THE SHOW
Choreographer:
Person who creates the steps and patterns that make-up a dance
Composer:
Person who writes the music score for the ballet
Costume Designer:
Designs the costumes and supervises their construction
Set Designer:
Designs the set and scenery, supervises set construction
Lighting Designer:
Plans the design, colors and frequency of the light changes on-stage
Wig and Make-up Designer:
Designs and supervises all hairstyles, wigs and make-up
AT THE COMPANY
Artistic Director:
Selects the dancers in the Company, decides what ballets will be performed, and is
responsible for all artistic choices
Ballet Master/Mistress:
In charge of all company rehearsals and classes, including staging, setting, and coaching
the dancers
Costume Master/Mistress:
Supervises creating, fitting, repairing and cleaning the costumes. Tells the performers
how to wear them and take care of them
Technical Director:
Runs the scene shop where all sets, scenery and props are built. Also responsible for
transporting all scenery to the theater
BACKSTAGE
Director of Operations:
Schedules all technical rehearsals and dress rehearsals. Also determines the number of
crew members necessary for performance to run smoothly
Production Stage Manager:
Coordinates the lighting, sets, costumes, and all backstage crew members
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Stage Manager:
In charge of all that happens backstage in performance and rehearsals
Crew:
Assist in construction, installation, and changes of the set, costumes, lights and props
Dresser:
Helps the dancers put on their costumes correctly
ON THE STAGE
Cast:
All performers on stage
Dancers:
Performers who dance or move to tell the story
Corps de Ballet:
The dancers who do not dance solos, but dance together as a group
Soloists:
All dancers who perform dances by themselves
Ballerina:
The leading Female Dancer
Premiere Danseur:
The leading Male Dancer
Discussion Prompts
(Primary – 4th grade)
Instead of presenting the list of the people backstage at the ballet, start a discussion with
your students about the work it takes to put on a school program. Then discuss the size
and length of a ballet production.
(5th grade – High School)
These are just a few of the dedicated people who work for the Louisville Ballet. What
other jobs are necessary for a performing arts company? Here are a few to get the
conversation started.
Executive Director: makes all business decisions for the Company
Marketing Director: in charge of advertising
Development Director: in charge of applying for grants and soliciting donations
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Core Content Vocabulary
(Adaptable for all Grade Levels)
Dance Movements
Locomotor: creates a pathway with your feet i.e. walk, run, leap, hop, jump, skip, slide
and gallop
Nonlocomotor: does not create a pathway with your feet i.e. bend, twist, stretch,
swing
Elements of Dance
Space
Direction: forward, backward, sideways, diagonal
Pathway: straight, curved, zigzag
Level: low, middle, high (both feet are off the floor)
Shape: closed/open, curved/angled, can be done as a group or as an individual
Size: big/small
Focus: at audience or a different specified object or location
Time
Tempo: fast, medium, slow
Duration: the amount of time taken for each step
Accent: when one accents a specific count in a phrase of movement
Force
Energy: the energy used to do the movement i.e. sharp/smooth
Weight: heavy/light
Basic Choreographic Forms
& how to show them
•
The AB choreographic form can be shown by having students do nonlocomotor
movement for 4 counts followed by locomotor movement for 4 counts.
•
The ABA choreographic form can be shown by repeating the exercise above and
adding 4 more counts of nonlocomotor movement to the end. This form
inherently has a beginning, middle and end.
14
A Choreographer’s Role
(5th grade – High School)
Choreography is the art of creating and arranging dances or ballets. Choreographers
accomplish this art form by many different approaches. Some choreographers match
steps and the movements of the dancers to music while others choose to start with an
overall theme or ideal that they would like to express or convey through movement.
Dances can be political, deal with social issues, experimental and abstract in content or be
purely for entertainment.
Dance Composition Definitions
•
A dance phrase is a unit of movement that has a flow and can be repeated. It is
similar to a sentence phrase or musical phrase. It is moved by one or more parts
of the body.
•
A dance theme is one or more phrases that make up the core of the dance. It is
the dancer’s non-verbal core statement of his piece.
Advanced Choreographic Forms
•
Call and response as a choreographic form can be described as conversational:
One person moves and the other person’s movement responds to (answers) the
movements of the initial mover, just as in a tap challenge.
•
A rondo can be described as ABACADA. The choreographic pattern begins with
a main theme (A) followed by another theme or movement material, and the A
theme returns after each new movement phrase.
•
Theme and variation format can be described as a dance phrase or section of a
dance with subsequent dance phrases or sections being variations of the original.
This would A, A1, A2, A3.
•
The narrative choreographic form tells a story or conveys an idea. The sequence
of the story determines the structure of the dance.
Discussion Prompt
What choreographic forms would be present in Cinderella?
Answer: all of them. In a full length ballet all choreographic forms are utilized. Have
students watch for different choreographic forms during the performance.
15
Basic Ballet Terms and Positions
Classical ballet terms are French in origin. As a result a ballet dancer can take a class
almost anywhere in the world and understand the exercises and combinations of steps
that the teacher wants performed.
The five positions – the basic foot positions through which all ballet movements begin,
pass through and end.
Arabesque (ah-rah-besk’) – the dancer stands on one leg with the other leg raised and
extended straight behind the body parallel to the floor.
Ballerina (bal-eh-re’-na) – the principle female dancer of a ballet company.
Ballon (bal-lon’) – the bounciness and lightness of steps which would make the dancer
seem to float on air.
Battement (baht-mahn’) – the extension of a leg and return to its original position.
Corps de Ballet (cor-da-bah-le’) – all other professional dancers in a ballet company;
they typically perform in groups, backing the soloists and principle dancers.
Danseur (dan-seur’) – the principle male dancer of a ballet company, the partner of the
ballerina.
Divertissement (dee-vehr-tees-mahn’) – short dances inserted into ballet to feature
soloists or small groups of dancers.
Jeté (je-tay’) – a jump from one foot to the other where the weight of the body is
transferred from the starting foot to the landing foot.
Pas de Deux (pah duh duh) – a dance or variation for two dancers.
Plié (plee-ay’) – to bend the knee or knees.
16
Pirouette (peer-oo-wet’) – the complete turn of the body with the dancer balanced on
one foot.
En Pointe (on-pwahnt) – dancing on the extreme tips of the toes.
Port de bras (pore-de-bra) – the graceful way that arms, hands and fingers are held
and moved while doing steps with the feet.
Rond de jambe (rawn duh zhahmb) – a circular movement of the leg.
Soloists – the middle tier of the dancers in a professional company; highly talented,
they perform large parts but usually not leading roles.
Tour en l’air (toor ahn lair’) – a turn in the air, generally performed by male dancers.
Turn out – the outward rotation of the whole leg from the hip socket to the floor.
Tutu (too’too) – the classical ballet skirt, usually made of many layers of net and tulle.
Discussion Prompt:
(Adaptable for all ages)
Go through the list of ballet terms with your students and have them match the terms with
core content terms.
For example:
Plié is a nonlocomotor movement performed at middle level.
Jeté is a locomotor movement going from middle level to high level and returning to
middle level.
17
Responding to Dance Chart
(Post Activity)
Opportunities for viewing live and recorded dance performances are integral to dance
education. These opportunities enable students to become totally involved in dance –
engaged visually, physically, emotionally and intellectually. The suggestions in the
Responding to Dance Chart can help teachers to structure formal response activities.
Preparation – establish the focus for viewing the work
First Impression – encourage students to respond spontaneously (no
wrong answers)
Description – ask students to describe what they saw/heard
Analysis of content – encourage students to:
• Examine how components worked together to achieve certain effects.
• Identify evidence of particular cultures, styles or time periods represented in the
work. Even though the story was based on a fairy tale, how did you come to your
decision?
• Did the use of props add or take away from the story?
• How would the performance have been different without props?
Interpretation – encourage students to:
• Reflect on and discuss what the work means to each of them.
• Ask how their responses are influenced by their own experiences and perceptions
of the world?
• Reflect on whether Whitney Hall at the Kentucky Center was an appropriate
venue for this performance? Why or why not?
• Ask if it makes a difference where a production is presented?
Background information – Share information with students on the contributors to the
ballet (choreographer, composer) and the historical and cultural context in which the
original work was created.
Level of importance – ask students to think on the question:
• How do the arts add to or take away from their learning experience?
Informed judgment – Ask students to consider their first impressions and whether or not
their initial opinions have changed as a result of discussion and reflection.
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