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BACKGROUND ACTIVITIES:
Activity One
The purpose of this activity is to accumulate background information on Bob Fosse.
1. Ask the students if they know who Bob Fosse was, what they know about him, and what contributions he made to the world.
2. Depending on the students' responses, you may choose to ask them to go on a scavenger hunt to find three Bob Fosse facts. Information on the choreographer can be found at the following Web sites:
DETROIT FREE PRESS: Who was Bob Fosse?
http://www.freep.com/fun/arts/qbob2.htm
Musical Theatre Guide: Biographies: Bob Fosse
http://www.nodanw.com/biographies/bob_fosse.htm
Who2?: Bob Fosse
http://www.who2.com/bobfosse.html
3. Discuss the information the students found on their scavenger hunt.
STEPS:
Activity One
The purpose of this activity is for the students to read sample reviews and write a review of a Bob Fosse production.
1. Send the students to the following Web site to read reviews of Bob Fosse's Broadway shows:
http://www.culturefinder.com/artsresources/theater/cfguide/allstar/musical?id=4349
2. Tell the students to click on the links to several of the Fosse musicals listed in the Related Culture Briefs box to read reviews of each. (You may also choose to print the reviews and pass them out to the class.)
3. Discuss the reviews, focusing on how they are structured and what kinds of information they contain.
4. Create a class chart that contains the elements of the reviews. Then explain to the students that they are going to write a review of a show by Bob Fosse.
5. Borrow the following movies from your local library or video store:
- ALL THAT JAZZ
- CABARET
- PIPPIN
- SWEET CHARITY
You may also use the GREAT PERFORMANCES program FROM BROADWAY: FOSSE for this activity.
(Note to Teachers: The films noted above should be screened before students view them since some do contain adult content. THE PAJAMA GAME and THE LITTLE PRINCE, both choreographed by Bob Fosse but not directed by him, can be substituted for any films deemed inappropriate for the classroom environment.)
6. Ask the students to select which they would like to review, and divide the class into groups according to their video choice. (Although the students will be viewing the videos in groups, each student will write his or her own review.)
7. Provide time for the students to view the videos.
8. After the students have written their reviews, ask them to return to their viewing groups to share and discuss their reviews.
Activity Two
The purpose of this activity is for the students to examine the impact Bob Fosse had on contemporary dance.
1. Lesson Preparation: Ask for student volunteers to record and bring in their favorite music videos. (After you have collected and screened the videos, select five or six of them to use with the lesson.)
2. Send the students to the Library of Congress' Web site, America's Story from America's Library, to read about Bob Fosse.
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/pages/jb_0623_fosse_1.html
3. After the students have read the online biography, refer back to this quote from the Web site:
Hip-hop, disco, and funk all borrow elements of Fosse's style. The next time you watch a music video, check out the dance steps. Try to imagine which ones were borrowed from Fosse's choreography.
4. Divide the students into groups and give each group one of the selected music videos and a copy of a Fosse movie, or the GREAT PERFORMANCES' FROM BROADWAY: FOSSE program.
5. Ask the students to find as many examples of dance moves that were borrowed from Fosse's choreography as they can.
6. Tell each group to present this information to the class in the form of an oral report.
EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:
Activity One
1. As a class, create a survey on the topic of musicals.
2. After the class has created the survey, ask for volunteers to print copies of it.
3. Ask the students to give the surveys to a variety of people from school, home, and the community to complete.
4. Discuss and chart the survey results.
(Note to Teachers: If the students don't include an age section in the survey, it might be a good idea to suggest that they do.)
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