Classroom Resource Guide for Teachers

Dasher’s Magical Gift

Produced by

CNY Arts Directed by

Larry Crabtree Written by

Matt Chiorini

Performed by

Students from Dance Centre North

This production is made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, and Onondaga County.

SUMMARY: Scene 1- It is 3 days before Christmas when two lost penguins, Wiggles and Wobbles, find themselves at the North Pole rather than the South Pole where they encounter Peppermint (call her Pepper), the first reindeer they have ever seen. She hurriedly explains what reindeer are and that they can fly, she also tells them about Christmas. The Scene ends with the Red Carpet arrival of Dasher who is the lead reindeer to pull Santa’s sleigh and a North Pole celebrity.

Scene 2- Later that evening, when the two penguins are discussing a recap of the day, they see Pepper again. She gives them a lovely description of the magic of the Spirit of Christmas. Outside of Santa’s workshop the reindeer are warming up for flying practice, but Dasher avoids practice with the excuse that he has interviews. He ignores Pepper’s request for an

autograph and hurts her feelings, causing her to run into the forest.

Scene 3- Pepper is lost in the Frozen Forest where she meets the Spirit of Christmas. The Spirit of Christmas helps Pepper and gives her a small box to deliver to Dasher, after reminding her that even big celebrities like Dasher can feel alone and afraid, and sends Pepper off to find Dasher.

Scene 4 - Sir Ralph Elf is reporting on the activity on December 24th as the reindeer prepare for their trip and wonder whom Santa will choose to help Dasher lead the sleigh. The Penguins are still debating whose fault it was that they got lost and Dasher admits to Santa that he can’t fly any more. Santa announces that Christmas has to be cancelled. Pepper

arrives, out of breath, with the gift for Dasher. Dasher grabs it from her and then has a change of heart and gives the gift to Pepper, explaining that she really deserves it. The small box opens and light emanates from the box, filling Dasher with the true meaning of Christmas, and he begins to float off the ground. Christmas is saved and Pepper is chosen to fill the empty space next to Dasher and they take off with Santa as the Spirit of Christmas reminds everyone of the real meaning of the season.

*CCSS, NGSS and Core Standards have been considered when creating this guide.

You will find codes and a key (included) for each page and how it relates to each.

Internet Resources www.claus.com

Full fun things to do for both kids and parents: choose an Elf Buddy, go to Elf School, e-mail Santa, and much more

www.northpole.com Visit Santa’s Workshop with

plenty of activities and ideas

www.xmasfun.com Lots of fun stuff, including

songs, recipes, stories and a

countdown to Christmas

This Classroom Resource Guide is intended to provide helpful information

for the teacher and students to use before and after attending the

performance. The activities presented in this guide are suggested to stimulate responses and discussions so that the

theatrical production may be used as a tool for creative learning. We hope that

our suggestions are useful and productive!

Pre- Performance Activities

Introduce the Characters The main characters and some

supporting characters in this pro-

duction are depicted on the first

two pages of the Activity Sheets.

Reproduce these images and give

each student a copy. Explain that

Dasher’s Magical Gift tells an

original story about some of

our best loved Christmas

characters. Ask each child to

think of a simple story which

involves some or all of these

characters. This story can be

written down or told to the rest

of the group.

Imagine The Setting

The main action in Dasher’s

Magical Gift takes place at the

North Pole, outside Santa’s

workshop, and in the Frozen

Forest. On the third page of the

Activity Sheets, the outside of

Santa’s Workshop is depicted.

Have your students draw what

they imagine the inside to look

like. Discuss the fact that this is

exactly what the scenic designer

does when beginning to design a

set. After you have seen the

production, have your students

compare their ideas to those of

the designer for Dasher’s Magical

Gift.

Discover Who Makes The

Production Happen On the fifth page of the Activity

Sheets, there is a worksheet list-

ing all the people who worked on

Dasher’s Magical Gift. Have your

students draw lines to match the

people to the descriptions of

their jobs.

Learn More About the Theater On the sixth page of the Activity

Sheets, there is a worksheet list-

ing many of the things you will see

upon your arrival at the Civic Cen-

ter. Have your students draw lines

to match these things to their

descriptions.

Discuss The Elements Of

This Production Unlike some classical ballet,

Dasher’s Magical Gift utilizes a

narrator and pantomime. It is a

dance-drama that combines the

elements of ballet (dance and mu-

sic) with the elements of

theater (a storyline, narrator,

and pantomime). Discuss these

elements with your class and

ask your students to look for

them while watching the

production.

Dance

The dance in this production is

primarily highly stylized mime and

is almost always set to music. The

choreographer plans the move-

ments to coordinate with the

music.

Music

In any film, television production,

or live performance, music is a key

element in establishing the mood

or setting the pace for what is to

happen. In dance, of course, it is

particularly important. Music pro-

vides the inspiration for the dance

and coordinates and motivates the

movements.

Mime

Using body movements, facial ex-

pressions and gestures, a mime

can portray a character, mood,

idea, or storyline.

Narrator

The person who tells the story as

it is enacted by the dancers on the

stage

Sets

The set establishes the place where the action is taking place. The set may include:

• Backdrops - Large pieces of material

hung at the back of the stage

• Flats - A piece of scenery made of a

wooden frame covered with canvas and

painted

• Furniture - As in a home, to create re-

ality or special furniture for a special

setting, as in the castle

• Properties - Small items like dishes and

toys used on stage

Costumes

Anything worn on stage is part of the actor’s

or dancer’s costume. The costumes need to

convey the personality of the character, as

well as be easy to move in.

Education Standards used:

W.K.2/ S.L.K.5/ RL 6.7/ VA.Re.7.1.5a/ W.K.3/ RLK.7/ RL5.7/ MU.Pr.4.1.5a

The following are pieces of music* that are used during the production of Dasher’s Magical

Gift. You can play these selections for your students and have them describe how the music

makes them feel, or what they think is happening when this music is playing during the show.

*All music pieces are selections from the opera Coppélia by Leo Delibes.

Scene 1: No.11-Musique Des Automates/ No.7- Czardasz Danse Hongroise

Scene 2: No.24 Fete de la Cloche

Scene 3:No.5-Ballade/No. 13 Chanson a Boire Et Scene

Scene 4: No.6-Theme Slave Vare/ V.-L’Hymen

LEO DELIBES (1836 - 1891)

Léo Delibes was born in Saint-Germain-du-Val, now part of La Flèche (Sarthe),

France, in 1836. His father was a mailman, and his mother a talented amateur

musician. His grandfather had been an opera singer. He was raised mainly by his

mother and uncle following his father's early death. In 1871, at the age of 35, the

composer married Léontine Estelle Denain.

Léo Delibes was trained at the Paris Conservatoire. His first major triumph came

with the ballet Coppélia, based on a story by ETA Hoffmann and staged at the

Opéra in 1870. He excelled as a composer of operetta (short operas- usually funny)

and was equally successful with operas of a more serious kind.

Stage Works

Delibes won early success with Coppélia and its story of old Dr. Coppelius and his doll Coppélia, who seems to

come to life. He followed this in 1876 with Sylvia, set in ancient Greece. The 1866 ballet La Source had given

Delibes an earlier opportunity to work with the established composer Minkus. In 1882 Delibes wrote a set of

dances for Victor Hugo’s play Le Roi s’amuse, later to provide a subject for Verdi’s opera Rigoletto. His opera

Lakmé, dealing with the love of a British officer and the daughter of a priest in mid-19th-century India,

provides the well-known ‘Bell Song’ for sopranos. The ‘Flower Duet’, popularized by its recent commercial use,

remains his most popular piece to date.

For more information on Léo Delibes go online to: http://www.naxos.com/person/Leo_Delibes/27154.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Léo_Delibes

Education Standards used:

MU.Pr.4.1.5a/ VA.Re.7.1.5a/ VA.Cn.11.1.5a

In-Class Activity Education Standards used: SL.K.5/ SL.1.5

Hands & Feet Reindeer Heads

YOU WILL NEED:

Colored Construction paper: brown, black, green, yellow, white

Scissors and Glue

PROCEDURE

1. Trace student’s foot on brown paper and cut it out. (This is the reindeer's head.)

2. Trace both of the student’s hands on yellow paper and cut out.

3. Glue “hands” to the back of the "toes" end of the foot. These are the antlers.

4. Cut out eyes and a reindeer nose with the white and black paper.

5. You can also use googly eyes and pom-poms for the face.

6. Glue the face pieces on the reindeer.

7. Add holly pieces or other appropriate holiday decorations

Post- Performance Activities

Visual Arts

I. 2 Penguins accidentally

arrive at the North Pole

II. Outside Santa’s Workshop

III. The Frozen Forest

IV. Outside Santa’s Workshop

Make a Group Mural

Discuss the characters you met in Dasher’s Magical Gift. Have your students look through

magazines, newspapers, and online for pictures of these characters and have them cut out

the pictures and bring them to school. Make a group mural of a Christmas scene by

arranging the cutouts on a large sheet of paper and pasting them down.

Make Puppets

Have your class make puppets of the characters in Dasher’s Magical Gift. Make up

other stories using puppet characters in a puppet show.

Draw Pictures

Drawing activities can be found on page eight thru ten of the Activity Sheets. Students

can draw penguins and Christmas presents.

Draw a Favorite Scene

Have your students draw their favorite scene from the production.

Education Standards used: RL.1.7/ SL.K.5/ VA.Re.7.1.5a/ RL 8.6

Scenes

Language Arts

Creative Questioning: 1. When you close your eyes and think about the performance you have just seen, what

moment do you remember first? Why do you remember that particular scene or moment?

2. How would you tell a friend what the performance was about? (Use as few sentences as

you can.)

3. If you had to give the performance a new title, what title would you give it?

4. What four words describe this performance?

5. If you could choose one of the characters in the performance to spend an hour with,

whom would you choose? Why? What would you ask this character?

6. If you could spend an hour with the whole performing company, what would you ask them?

7. If you were made the director of this production and could change anything, what would

you change?

8. Did you like this performance? Why or why not?

Talk About the Action

Found on page seven in the Activity Sheets are

four pictures of different moments in the

show. Duplicate this sheet for your class and

ask students to number the scenes from 1 to 4,

in the order in which they happened. They may

also want to color them or draw their own

versions. Talk about how the character was

feeling at that moment of the play.

Write Other Adventures of Dasher and

friends

Dasher’s Magical Gift opens with two lost

penguins at the North Pole. Make your own

book filled with the adventures of Dasher and

his friends. Have each student write a story or

a poem. Collect the stories and poetry and bind

them into a book.

Education Standards used:

VA.Re.7.1.5a/ RLK.7/ RL 1.7/ RL 4.7/ RL 5.7/ W.K.3

SL.K.5/ SL.1.5

Characters:

Pepper Dasher Santa

Wiggles Wobbles The Elves Sir Ralph

Comet Cupid

Dancer Donner Prancer Vixen

Blitzen

The Christmas Spirit

Education Standards used: SL.K.5

Language Arts-Poetry

The author of Dasher’s Magical Gift chose to create a story around the character of Dasher because

that is the first reindeer called out by Santa in the famous Christmas poem A Visit From St. Nicholas

by Clement Clarke Moore. In Dasher’s Magical Gift, Pepper uses poetry to explain the true meaning of

Christmas to the two penguins and, in a later scene, the Spirt of Christmas uses poetry when speaking

with Pepper. The final scene of the performance ends with the voice of the Spirit of Christmas

echoing a verse of poetry. Discuss with your students, using A Visit from St. Nicholas as an example,

how poetry can be used to tell a story. Discuss with the students how poetry can cause us to feel

emotions or create a visual picture in our heads. Have your students write a poem that tells a story

about their favorite holiday memory or experience. (A copy of the poem is included on page eleven of

the Activity Sheets.)

“To the top of porch! To the top of the wall! Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”

-A Visit From St. Nicholas By Clement Clark Moore

Education Standards used: VA.Cn.11.1.5a/ RL 5.7/ RL 6.7

Write To Us! It is important to us to know how you like Dasher’s Magical Gift - your feedback does make

a difference. Take some time to have your students write letters to us. The questions and

activities inside will provide ideas for what these letters could include. We have included an

easy form letter for your students to fill out (last page- Activity Sheets) to say THANKS!

Mailing address: CNY Arts, John H. Mulroy Civic Center, 421 Montgomery St., Syracuse, NY 13202

Penguins are flightless birds.

While other birds have wings for flying, penguins

have adapted flippers to help them swim in the

water.

Most penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Galapagos Penguin is the only penguin that

ventures north of the equator in the wild.

Large penguin populations can be found in

countries such as New Zealand, Australia, Chile,

Argentina and South Africa.

No penguins live at the North Pole!!

Penguins eat a range of fish and other sea life that

they catch underwater.

Penguins can drink sea water.

Penguins spend around half their time in water and

the other half on land.

Penguin’s black and white plumage serves as

camouflage while swimming. The black plumage

on their back is hard to see from above, while the

white plumage on their front looks like the sun

reflecting off the surface of the water when seen

from below.

Talk About the Natural Habitats:

Dasher’s Magical Gift creates a situation that would never occur in nature; a penguin and reindeer interacting.

Discuss the habitats of penguins and reindeer, why it would be uncommon for them to interact, and the unique

environment each one is found in. Ask your students if they could choose between living in the North Pole or South

Pole, which would they choose?

Education Standards used: 2-LS4/ 3-LS4

Science

opportunities

Dasher’s Magical Gift shows us a

situation where penguins and

reindeer interact. Considering how

rare it would be that these two

animals would ever meet up, this

gives you an opportunity to discuss

the natural habitats of both the

penguin and the reindeer.

Online Resources:

http://www.nothingbutpenguins.co

m/about-penguins/

( a great website all about penguins

and their natural habits)

http://a-z-

animals.com/animals/reindeer/

( a good link for some general facts

about reindeer - diet, habitats,

scientific name)

Right in our own backyard:

http://rosamondgiffordzoo.org/ass

ets/uploads/animals/pdf/Humbold

tPenguin.pdf

( a link to information about the

penguins that students could see if

they visit the Rosamond Gifford Zoo

right here in Syracuse)

Fun Facts About Penguins!