Archive for the ‘Asian Arts Workshops’ Category

Bollywood Dance Workshops by Trap Media

Friday, March 16th, 2012

Adding unique and engaging workshops to your existing program of learning can really help to make children feel involved and thus greatly increases ability to learn and understand different cultures. Everyone, teachers included love to get involved in dance workshops especially Bollywood Dance and it not only livens up the day but increases cultural awareness.

We offer half day or whole day Bollywood dance workshops to all ages and abilities, and we can also do a performance in your assembly for the whole school to enjoy. Our authentic Bollywood dancers wear fantastic authentic costumes making sure that you get the full experience.

Bollywood Workshop Structure Example:

Bollywood dance warm up
Bollywood master class learn the moves to build up to a full routine.
Pupils need to be able to express themselves, so it is important that they not only learn but create in order to understand the dance style.
Either to the rest of the class at the end, or depending on the timetable, a bigger performance to some other classes or in assembly. A performance gives them something to work towards and great ending to any session.

The main focuses for Bollywood Dance Workshops:

Background to Bollywood
Learning a dance routine
Using story telling as a part of dance
Using hand gestures and foot movements

Bollywood Dance workshops are a fun way to introduce Indian dance to students whilst fitting in with the National Curriculum and most importantly relating to children.

Take a look at one of our Bollywood Dance Workshops in action!

The movement during the Bollywood dance workshop would include fast and funky moves for the hips and shoulders, combined with some cheesy humour and Indian–style moves for the fingers, all accompanied by catchy Bollywood music.

A typical Bollywood Dance Workshop consists of; energetic and fun warm up based on aerobic exercises, isolations, stretching and balances, designed to stretch participants and develop their co-ordination.

This is followed by an introduction to the basic movement vocabulary of Bollywood dance focusing on the specific variances and characteristics of traditional classical Indian dance or the high energy spectacular of Bollywood!

Participants then build the movements they have learnt into a choreographed routine working on their own or in small groups.

The Bollywood Dance Workshop ends with a high energy live dance performance by participants to put into practice the techniques they have learned during the workshops. The group being split into two so each group can give a mini – performance, while the other acts as the audience. We find that many individuals gain a sense of great satisfaction and achievement from this performance.

Combining Bollywood Performances and School Workshops

You could also add in a performance at your school from one of our professional dancers. This give your students a chance to see Bollywood dance live, experience the energy and costume, and may also inspire them to continue dancing.

To book a Bollywood Dance Workshop or for more information on Bollywood Dance please call our bookings line FREE today on 0800 689 9909. To visit Trap Media to find out more about all our Asian Arts Workshops .

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Chinese Dance Workshops – Cultrurally Stimulating

Monday, March 5th, 2012

Chinese Dance Workshops are extremely popular in schools, because they are culturally stimulating, colourful and really engaging. Chinese Dance has a unique style and outlook making it really interesting to take part in.

Props play a huge part in Chinese Dance, use of ribbons, fans, dragons and lions make the workshops visually stunning. Most people use sound to communicate in their everyday life, but a dancer on stage uses his limbs and body to do the same thing. Just like the Chinese language, Chinese dance has its own unique vocabulary, semantics, and syntactic structure that enable a dancer on stage to fully express his thoughts and feelings with ease and grace.

Our Chinese Dance Workshops are a combination of Chinese culture, traditional Chinese dance and folk dancing. Chinese dance workshops begin with a basic warm up, leading to a small routine incorporating Chinese gestures that the participants pick up easily. Our facilitators teach a variety of Chinese dances including Chinese Ribbon Dance, Chinese Fan Dance and Chinese Umbrella Dance.

Chinese Ribbon Dance is one of the most famous traditional Chinese dances. The Chinese ribbon dance features dancers using sharp, rhythmic movements and long colourful ribbons. The silk ribbons are attached to short, varnished sticks, and as the dancer manipulates the silk, they also perform specific steps and leaps. The ribbons and choreography are precisely synchronized so that the ribbons form patterns and designs in the air that are captivating to all who watch a performance. The history of the Chinese Ribbon Dance goes back thousands of years. Chinese Ribbon Dance originated during the “Han Dynasty” and reached its peak in the “Tang dynasty”. The ribbon dance was performed only for the royal people. Today, Chinese Ribbon dance has its popularity among the common

Chinese Fan Dance dates from 2,000 years ago and was developed during the Han dynasty. This extravagance and splendour of the Chinese culture and is mesmerized by spectators all over the world and is hugely popular. The Chinese Fan Dance highlights delicate movements with constantly changing rhythm, which is dynamic and graceful. Chinese Fan Dances are generally divided into folk dances and classical dances. Folk dances include the kung fu fan dance.

Lion Dance is a traditional Chinese dance where 2 performers mimic a lion’s movements inside a lion costume. Lion dance started thousands of years ago in China as a way of people being able to see a lion without it being a real one! The dance has developed through the years, very visually engaging and popular.

With workshops focusing not only on different movements but also incorporating fans, ribbons, lions and colourful costumes, Chinese Dance Workshops are really exciting to not only take part in but to also watch. For more information on our Chinese Dance Workshops please visit our website http://www.trapmedia.com/chinese_dance_workshops.htm.

It is important to note that we offer many types of Chinese Dance and Dance Workshops, to help you with diversity days or multicultural weeks.

To book a Chinese Dance Workshop or for more information on Chinese Dance please call our bookings line FREE today on 0800 689 9909. To visit Trap Media to find out more about all our Asian Arts Workshops .

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Chinese Story Telling Workshops

Tuesday, September 13th, 2011

Enter into a world of dragons and ancient warriors and where beautiful maidens fly to the moon. These imaginative and exciting stories are based on Chinese traditional folk tales who makes a refreshing change from western stories.

Our Chinese Story Telling Workshops are designed to be fully interactive so children are involved right from the very start with full participation. The artists may embellish the stories with Chinese opera movements and a simple costume if appropriate to the contents. The vocabulary used will be adjusted to the level of the participants after storytelling; participants will be encourage to act out the story in a fun group role-play.

Experience the rich history and myths of the Chinese culture with our interactive Chinese Storytelling Workshops. Chinese Storytelling Workshops include Chinese New Year stories, Stories about dragons and other Chinese festivals and many more! Our Chinese Storytelling workshop is an age old tradition, and serves as oral vehicle for imparting values and cultural ethics to the younger generation while providing entertainment and recreation. Historically, Chinese Storytelling was essentially a communal participatory experience and therefore ideally for school environments. Stories are told by our authentic Chinese storytellers with the emphasis on full interaction through song, music, or dance.

To book a Chinese Storytelling workshop please call us FREE on 0800 689 9909 or fill out our booking form now – don’t delay!

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Chinese Dance Workshops

Tuesday, September 13th, 2011

In Chinese culture, dance is a way to express not only personal emotions and feelings but also the character of the nation. The choreographer, through demonstrations by the dancers, expresses his or her realm of thinking. That’s why the combination of forms and movements, also called body techniques, and the dancer’s inner world all affect the inner meaning transmitted.

Most people use sound to communicate in their everyday life, but a dancer on stage uses his limbs and body to do the same thing. Just like the Chinese language, Chinese dance has its own unique vocabulary, semantics, and syntactic structure that enable a dancer on stage to fully express his thoughts and feelings with ease and grace.

Today Chinese dance is still practiced in China and throughout the world. There are many variations lots of which we offer as Chinese Dance Workshops.

Chinese Ribbon Dance Workshop

Participants will use hand held ribbons to move in large circular movements, these movements are accentuated by the trailing ribbon. Participants will use large and flowing movements at times when the music is slower paced, so the ribbon will “float” around your body. When the tempo speeds up, typically so do the movements into sharp and quick motions. This will give the look of fluttering and flapping that will bring an equal amount of beauty to the dance. It’s all about allowing the music to help dictate your motions and expressions. Chinese Ribbon Dance Workshops are colourful, engaging, fun and help to teach participants the theatrical style of Chinese dance and its history. Participants also learn a routine which in turn will lead to a live performance!

Chinese Fan Dance

Participants will enjoy keeping movements in time with the consistently changing rhythms paired with consistently changing body positions. Classical Fan dances are based on simple classical Chinese body movements, allowing the dance to be very soft and flowing continuously. The Chinese fan dance is performed in celebration of Chinese culture, it represents beauty, grace and delicacy; it also expresses feelings of joy. Feather fans and silk fans both are part of the traditional Chinese dance. Chinese Fan Dance Workshops are a cultural insight into Chinese history that are not only interactive and engaging but are fun to watch or participate in.

Chinese Lion Dance

Chinese Lion Dance workshops offer participants a chance to see a Chinese Lion in full swing! A performance typically involves two performers (representing the head and tail of the lion) mimicking the movements of the lion, accompanied by the sound of a drum, cymbals and gong. The person responsible for the head portrays the emotions of the lion whilst the tail coordinates its movements with the front, and in some cases carrying out acrobatic stunts. Participants can dance with the lion, learning about the history of lion dancing and how much of an integral part of Chinese culture it is as well as having a fun and active time.

Chinese Handkerchief Dance

Chinese Handkerchief Dance is a great way for participants to work in a group, learning how to dance and how to use the handkerchief to create various moving patterns is very engrossing. The dance movements are very smooth, conducted in time with the music, with exuberant gestures and vivid performing style. Chinese Handkerchief Dance Workshops are vibrant, engaging, fun and help to teach participants at the same time!

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