Music: Performing Arts Activities (Lockdown)

Types of Dance

For each style of the dance below find a description of the style and a youtube clip of the dance in action.

What is a Hip-Hop Dance? Hip-Hop dance is a dance that consists of vibrant exercises, art, movements, steps, creating a freestyle movement where individuals or groups creates a platform to express self-expression, perseverance, art and talent. 

What is a Jazz Dance? Jazz is a dance developed from the 19th and 20th centuries and traditional black social dances. To be a Jazz dancer, you need to have powerful movements and techniques that are also lines with a good base in classical ballet. For men, you need to be strong grounding and a masculine edge.

What is  Salsa Dance? Salsa is a Latin dance associated with a music genre of the same name, it was popularised in the United States in the 1960s. It was primarily developed by Puerto Ricans and Cubans living in New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s. 

What is a Tap Dance? Tap dance originated in the United States with a combination of several ethnic percussive dances, primarily West African. It is a unique dance that uses a metal end heel of shoes. It creates a tapping sound where it creates a beat and music of art, by rhythmically striking the floor or any hard surfaces.

What is the Contemporary Dance? Contemporary dance is a genre of dance performers that developed during the mid-twentieth century. Contemporary dance draws on both classical ballet and modern dance. There are unpredictable changes in rhythms, speeds, movements and directions.

Music: Performing Arts Activities (Lockdown)

What does the word choreography mean? Choreography is a formed art composed of ballets and other dances where movements, steps, are planned and arranged, usually it consists few dancers to create a pattern. It is a technique where various movements are presented creating a meaningful impact. 

What is a choreographer? A choreographer is someone who creates the dance routines and movements of sequence. They are in charge of the arrangement and forethought of the steps and patterns. Basically, they are the ones who do the choreography in stages, TV, film, performances and many more.

Find two other choreographers find three facts on each and get pictures

Rie Hata 

She is the visionary behind a number of BTS's ironic dances. Such as the "Anpanman", "Airplane pt2" and "Mic Drop". She also Choreopgrahed Chris Brown's song "Party". Rie Hata is a mother of two children with her partner/fellow dancer, Kamiya Yuki.

Matt Steffanina

Matt Steffanina is an American dancer, entrepreneur, producer and choreographer. He was born and raised in VA. Matt is the most ‘followed’ dancer in the world with over 10 million subscribers on YouTube and over 1.5 billion views on his videos.

Music: Performing Arts Activities (Lockdown)

The Royal Family

Who are the Royal Family? The Royal Family is a dance crew where Parris Goebel is involved in.

What competitions have they been involved in/won? They participated in that HHI NZ Mega Crew where they won 1st place in 2019. They have won three gold medals in 2011, 2012 and 2013. One silver medal in 2015 and one bronze medal in 2016. The group appeared at the 2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards, dancing on-stage for K-pop acts CL, 2NE1 and Big Bang. 

Which famous singers have they danced for? The group performed for famous artists such as Rihanna, J-Lo, Justin Bieber. Famous Korean Pop singers such as CL, K-pop group 2NE1, and Big Bang, a k-pop band. 

Add some pictures and some links to their performances.

Music: Performing Art Activities (Lockdown)

Parris Goebel

Who is Parris Goebel? Parris Renee Goebel, also known as her name "Parris", is a New Zealand choreographer, dancer, singer, director and actress. 

Where did she grow up? Ms Goebel grew up in Auckland, New Zealand and is the youngest of four children. She has a Samoan, Chinese and Scottish descent. 

How/when did she study dance? Parris is an ambitious, talented, aspiring and creative girl since young. She has always been interested in dancing since she was little. She began to attend hip-hop lessons at the age of 10, where she was part of a dance group called "groupReQuest", along with her friends. A year later, their group joined the Monster of Hip-Hop Dance Convention in the United States, where Parris was selected in the finale performance. 

Since her international performance, Parris dance crew won eight gold medals, with five silver and five bronze medals.  She was also the creative director of the Royal Family Dance Crew who wan won the World Hip Hop Dance Championship three times. She lefts school at the age of 15 to pursue her dreams of being a dancer. She quickly gained a lot of supporters. J-Lo contacted Parris because she was amazed by her dance videos on YouTube. J-Lo asked the young lady to work on her 2012 world tour. Ever since, Parris has worked with big artists like Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Sam Smith (How do you sleep?) , Little Mix, Janet Jackson and Justin Bieber (Sorry).

The Music of the Pacific (Performing Arts Activities - Lockdown)

Choose all or some of the following Pacific Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, Fiji, Niue, New Caledonia, Tahiti. Answer the following questions.

Where is the island situated in the Pacific? Samoa is a small island country, located in the central South Pacific Ocean. Samoa sits about halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii.

 What does the flag look like?

What is the music like? The music in Samoa is a complex mixture of cultures and traditions.

What instruments are used? Traditional Samoan musical instruments include a Fala. A Fala is a rolled-up mat beaten with wooden sticks and often accompanied with choral singing. Another instrument is a Pate. A Pate is a traditional Samoan percussion and it is named after its English word, "beat" or "clap". 

Is there dancing that goes with the music? What is it like? Include pictures. 

The Samoans have a unique way of displaying their culture, with their characterized dances as a representation of their Samoan identity, in contact with other civilisation such as countries from the East and West. 

Music: Performing Arts Activities (Lockdown)

These are 15 musicians that paved the way in their genres. Many of our contemporary musicians have been inspired by at least one of these artists!

Listening Task

1. Listen to one song from each artist and put the song down that you listened to.

The Beatles

Across The Universe

Ella Fitzgerald 

Cheek to Cheek

Louis Armstrong

La vie en rose

Dolly Parton

Here You Come Again

Johnny Cash

Folsom Prison Blues

Joni Mitchell

A case of you

Frank Sinatra

Fly me to the moon

Ray Charles

I got a woman

John Denver

Leaving on a jet plane

Aretha Franklin

You make me feel like

The Beach Boys

Don't worry baby

Elvis Presley

Can't help falling in love

John William

Duel of the fates

Yo-Yo Ma

Bach: Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, Prélude

The Three Tenors

Nessun Dorma

2. Is there any of them you would listen to more of? There were some songs I like and some are okay for me. Some of these songs I'm familiar with, so I listen to them more but some I just discovered from this activity and surprisingly, I did like some of them. I'm mostly interested with Louis Armstrong because of his song "La Vie En Rose" and John Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane", because I've heard covers of these songs but never really listened to the original song.

3. Find a favourite song from one of the artists.

I do have favourites within the songs I put down. It was really difficult for me to choose which beautiful song to pick but I've made up my mind. La Vie En Rose by Louis Armsrong is my top 1 in the list because it's just a wonderful song, it's relaxing and really changes your mood in a good way.

Social Studies: The Holocaust Letter

Imagine you are a school principal who has received a complaint from a parent who is upset because of what his/her child has learned about the Holocaust.

Write a letter to the parent that explains your school’s point of view about teaching the Holocaust. In your letter, you should provide reasons for the school’s decision to present a learning programme about human rights and anti-semitism.

Social Studies: Re-Creating The Past

In your own words, describe what the soldiers discover. What impact does the discovery have on the soldiers?

In one of the activities assigned for us to do, there was a short clip video from a film about the Holocaust. In my opinion and from what I've understood, the allies soldiers went to one of the concentration camps and they discovered the living conditions of the people there. In the scene, I saw a bunch of men waiting from the inside of the large prison, it had barbed wires with sharp ends. The people inside looked miserable, their bodies were skeleton-like, they had dark circles, pale skin, some of them were sick and malnourished and some were near their ends. The atmosphere was dull and gloomy. The soldiers discovered that the guards didn't have enough ammo to kill everyone in the concentration camps. The situation made an immense impact on the soldiers because no one could imagine that humans would treat their own kinds like animals. The Jews in those camps didn't have any resources, no food, no water. From the look on their faces, the soldiers were depressed, confused and heartbroken from what they saw. 

Social Studies: The Gruesome Camp

 In Social Studies, we had to make a bar graph, showing the amount of death occurred in death camps during the Holocaust. From my previous blog, I made a map of where the death camps locations are. 

Death Camps and the amount of deaths:

Auschwitz-Birkenau - 1,400,000 deaths

Belzec - 600,000 deaths

Chelmno - 320,000 deaths

Majdanek - 360,000 deaths

Sobibor - 250,000 deaths

Treblinka - 870,000 deaths

During WWll, the Nazis used six extermination camps, also known as "Death Camps", where Jews were sent to be killed or exterminate in Central Europe. The victims in those camps were killed mercilessly by gassing. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extermination_camp

Social Studies (Working From Home) Mapping Skills

 In Social Studies, our teacher tested our mapping skills and the knowledge we had learnt and used it in an activity where we had to map. 

The map includes F.A.C.K.T.S, it is an abbreviation of Frame, Axis, Colours, Keys, Title and Scale. 

Information:

The term “Final Solution” was first used in the records of the Wannsee Conference.  It has come to mean the systematic, large-scale killing of Jews and other “undesirables” in specially-created extermination camps (as opposed to “concentration camps” which were initially detention camps for the Nazis’ political enemies).

These camps were operated by units of the German Schutzstaffel (SS) – specially selected men who were considered hard enough to be able to do whatever was required.

What happened in the extermination camps? 

• Jews would be rounded up from an area in Europe and transported by train to a camp. 
• On arrival, they would undergo a selection – those who would be “useful” and those who were not.
• Those who were “useful” were kept as slave labourers working for the German war effort.
• Those who were not useful were herded into what they had been told were shower rooms, but were in effect sealed gas chambers.
• Poison gas would be released into the chamber. When all were dead, their bodies would be taken to crematoria to be burned.
• The goods that the deported Jews took with them were sorted and valuables were kept by the Nazis.

Science: DNA Extraction Experiment

 In our lesson in Science, we did an experiment about our topic, which was "Genetics and Evolution". Our experiment is about extracting DNA from fruit. 

Equipment: 

• kiwi fruit or strawberry
• beaker
• stirring rod / or a stick
• ziplock bag
• detergent
• salt
• rubbing alcohol
• filtering paper
• water

Method:

1. After peeling the skin, mash the fruit in a ziplock bag until it's squishy and wet. 

2. Filter the mashed fruit in a beaker through a filtering paper until the juices are gone. 

3. Put a pinch of salt and liquid detergent and water with the mashed fruit in a beaker and stir it with a stick or stirring rod. 

4. After stringing the mixture, pour rubbing alcohol on the mixture and try not to move it around too much. 

5. After waiting for a couple of seconds, a slimy like texture will appear, with a stick scoop that slimy liquid out and that's it. 

Social Studies: The Kristallnacht Plan

TO ALL REGIONAL AND SUB-REGIONAL GESTAPO OFFICES

sent at 1:20AM, November 8, 1938

SUBJECT: MEASURES AGAINST THE JEWS THIS NIGHT 

That only such measures were to be taken that would not endanger German lives or property (e.g. the burning of synagogues was only to be carried out if there was no danger of the fire spreading to the surrounding district).  Businesses and residences of Jews may be damaged but not looted. Particular care is to be paid in business sections and surrounding streets. Non-Jewish businesses are to be protected from damage under all circumstances. Police are to seize all archives from synagogues and offices of community organizations, this refers to the material of historical significance. Archives are to be handed over to the SS. As soon as possible, officials are to arrest as many Jews especially wealthy ones - in all districts as can be accommodated in existing cells. For the time being, only healthy male Jews of not too advanced age are to be arrested.

Signed by Reinhard Heydrich, SS Gruppenfürer

How does evidence in this document show that “Kristallnacht” was planned in advance of the event actually happening?

The evidence written in the document is very clear, which means it really was their motive to destroy Jewish properties. As evidence, the sentence says “Businesses and residences of Jews may be damaged…”, this means that Jewish business and their homes are indeed supposed to be damaged. 30,000 Jewish men were sent to concentration camps and this was planned to happen, evidence found that “officials are to arrest as many Jews especially wealthy ones - in all districts as can be accommodated in existing cells. For the time being, only healthy male Jews of not too advanced age are to be arrested. The wealthy Jews, however, were separated from the ordinary and healthy Jews, they were put in cells rather than concentration camps. These are some proof that “Kristallnacht” was planned before the attack.

Social Studies: The Night of Broken Glass

 Kristallnacht

What is meant by the term “Kristallnacht”? Kristallnacht is translated to “Crystal Night” in German, also called “Night of Broken Glass” or “November Pogroms”, refers ironically to the little pieces of broken glass scattered everywhere in the streets after the riots occurred, when the German Nazis attacked the Jewish properties such as their houses, synagogues, owned business and shops, etc.

When did this event occur? The Kristallnacht occurred from the 9th of November to the 10th, 1938. The Crystal Night took place throughout Germany, Austria and some parts of Czechoslovakia. 

How many synagogues did the programme claim were burned? After the violence ended, heaps of properties were burned down and destroyed, rioters have claimed to have burned down and destroyed approximately 267 synagogues. 

How many Jews were claimed to have died as a result of this event? Destruction of Jewish territories and properties resulted in an early report that 91 Jews had been murdered. Kristallnacht was viewed many as the final solution (Jewish genocide) of executing Jews from the lands, including the murder of over 6 million Jews during The Holocaust.

How many were said to have been sent to concentration camps? During and after the bloody and chaotic night, over 7,000 Jewish businesses were destroyed and have been damaged. It was reported that about 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and were brought into concentration camps.

What was the reaction of the German people to this event? There have been a lot of reactions regarding the Kristallnacht event. Large numbers of people had benefited from the attack, they were able to collect goods thrown out onto the streets. Teachers brought students to see sites of smouldering synagogues, students gave nasty remarks, belittling and humiliating Jews. Germans believed that the Nazis viewed Jews as a "Misfortune" and that they should be put in their "place". On the other hand, some were "ashamed" to be a German, and were debated about the violence against people and the destruction of properties and territories of Jews. 

Resources: 

• https://www.britannica.com/event/Kristallnacht
• https://www.history.com/topics/holocaust/kristallnacht
• https://www.ushmm.org/information/exhibitions/online-exhibitions/special-focus/kristallnacht/synagogues/how-was-kristallnacht-carried-out/map-synagogues-destroyed-during-kristallnach
• thttps://www.ushmm.org/information/exhibitions/online-exhibitions/
• special-focus/kristallnacht/synagogues
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristallnacht
• https://time.com/5449578/kristallnacht-lessons-bystanders/

Wananga Reflection

The Soul of the Rose 

John William Waterhouse

From what I can see, this painting focal point is the woman because it's dominating the whole picture, the beautiful girl is smelling the scent of the rose. On the woman's expression, we can see that she looked pleased and out-of-the-world, the reason maybe because of the alluring rose. The woman had pale skin with a touch of blush and ginger hair, tied in a bun. She's wearing ravishing blue clothing with shiny golden patterns, the clothing gives the audience an idea of the woman's attitude and actions. In my opinion, the woman's actions are as graceful as flowers in a field. The background has a very medieval-like aesthetic, we can assume that the painting was set during medieval times.  

Social Studies: Adolf Hitler's Statement about the Jews

In Social Studies we started to study Hitler and the story behind the Holocaust.

 “The Jews were responsible for bringing negroes into the Rhineland with the ultimate idea of bastardising (lowering the quality of) the white race which they hate and thus lowering its cultural and political level so that the Jew might dominate.” - Adolf Hitler

“The Jewish youth lies in wait for hours on end...spying on the unsuspicious German girl he plans to seduce.....he wants to contaminate her blood and remove her from the bosom of her own people. The Jew hates the white race and wants to lower its cultural level so that the Jews might dominate.” - Adolf Hitler

What is the “Yellow Star of David?” and how did it show discrimination? 

The Yellow Star of David is a badge worn to mark Jews, implemented by the Nazis between 1939 to 1945. It displayed discrimination against Jews because they are being segregated, to simplify, they are behind excluded because of their religion. 

Resources: 

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/jewish-badge-during-the-nazi-era

The Holocaust

Two Quotes:

“The Jews were responsible for bringing negroes into the Rhineland with the ultimate idea of bastardising” 

“ (lowering the quality of) the white race which they hate and thus lowering its cultural and political level so that the Jew might dominate.”

This quote from Adolf Hitler, displayed anti-sentiments because he’s targeted particularly Jewish people. Hitler blamed them, insulted them and criticized them.

He stated that the Jews hate white people, that’s why they wanted to lower their cultural and political level, believing that Jews might take control and dominate. I believe that Hitler’s reasoning for despising the Jews is preposterous, because of their race and religion. We are not certain that Jews wants to take over, it originated from his own beliefs and thoughts, which I find delusional. 

Social Studies - THE NUREMBERG LAWS

In Social Studies, we looked at the Nuremberg laws, studied the information and facts from an article and answered the questions regarding the law. 

THE NUREMBERG LAWS 

At their annual party rally held in Nuremberg in September 1935, the Nazi leaders announced new laws based on many of the racial theories common in Nazi beliefs. These "Nuremberg Laws" excluded German Jews from Reich citizenship and prohibited them from marrying or having sexual relations with persons of "German or German-related blood." Additional regulations to these laws deprived them of most political rights. Jews were disenfranchised (that is, they had no right to vote) and could not hold public office. 

The Nuremberg Laws did not identify a "Jew" as someone with particular religious beliefs. Instead, the first amendment to the Nuremberg Laws defined anyone who had three or four Jewish grandparents as a Jew, regardless of whether that individual recognized himself or herself as a Jew or belonged to the Jewish religious community. Many Germans who had not practised Judaism (the Jewish religion) or who had not done so for years found themselves caught in the grip of Nazi terror. Even people with Jewish grandparents who had converted to Christianity could be defined as Jews. 

The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 were the start of a new wave of anti-Semitic laws that brought about immediate segregation: Jewish patients were no longer admitted to municipal hospitals in Düsseldorf, German court judges could not refer to legal commentaries or opinions written by Jewish authors, Jewish officers were expelled from the army, and Jewish university students were not allowed to sit for doctoral exams. 

Other regulations reinforced the message that Jews were outsiders in Germany; for example, in December 1935, the Reich Propaganda Ministry issued a decree forbidding Jewish soldiers to be named among the dead in World War I memorials. 

Adapted from: http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005681