"The Little Mermaid Study Guide"

A STUDY GUIDE FOR TEACHERSOF GRADES K – 12

Aligned with California State Content Standards

Prepared by: Inland Pacific BalletMontclair, CA

February 2010

I NLAND PAC IFI C BA LLE T

www.ipballet.org Page 2 The Little Mermaid Study Guide

Table of Contents

Welcome, About Inland Pacific Ballet ................................................................... 3

Young Person's Guide to Ballet Program Summary.............................................. 4

Correlation to California Visual and Performing Arts:

Dance Content Standards ........................................................................ 5

Ballet as an Art Form

What is Dance?........................................................................................ 7

Ballet: Basic Ballet Steps.......................................................................... 8

Ballet & Dance Vocabulary ....................................................................... 9

Pre-Activities

The Story of “The Little Mermaid” ............................................................11

The Author: Hans Christian Anderson.....................................................12

The Choreographers ...............................................................................14

The Composers ......................................................................................15

Theatre Etiquette.....................................................................................17

Post-Activities Overview

Language Arts.........................................................................................18

Social Studies .........................................................................................18

Science...................................................................................................19

Activity Sheets & Blackline Masters

Primary Grade Writing Sheet...................................................................21

Families & Traditions...............................................................................22

The Little Mermaid Setting ......................................................................23

Compare and Contrast Venn Diagram.....................................................24

Habitat ....................................................................................................25

Dance Match-up......................................................................................26

Vocabulary Crossword Puzzle .................................................................27

Vocabulary Word Search.........................................................................28

Resources and References.................................................................................29

PHOTO CREDIT: Cover photo by E. Y. Yanagi © Copyright 2010


Welcome!As part of our effort to introduce young people to the magic of ballet, we are pleased to

offer The Little Mermaid Study Guide, a resource for K-12 teachers bringing their students to

see an Inland Pacific Ballet outreach performance. The study guide allows you to choose what

best meets your needs and includes background information, a variety of specifically developedactivities, and a list of available resources that can be used in the classroom before and after

the performance. It is our hope that you find this information easy to use, and helpful both in

preparing your students for what they will see at the theater and discussing their experienceafterwards. In addition to printed information and student activity sheets that you can reproduce,

we have included links to online resources such as video examples, extended learning sources,

and additional information and lesson plan sources.Our sincere thanks to the teachers who contributed ideas and activity suggestions, and

the additional teachers who reviewed the guide and gave us valuable feedback. Enjoy!

Victoria Koenig, Artistic Director

About Inland Pacific BalletInland Pacific Ballet’s Founder/Artistic Directors are Victoria Koenig and Kevin Myers.

Both are southern California natives and bring a wealth of experience to their visionary

leadership of this young Company. In just 16 years they have built Inland Pacific Ballet into the

premier ballet company in the region, enjoying critical acclaim while performing the largest andmost varied repertoire in the area. The Company’s repertoire includes such classics as A

Midsummer Night’s Dream, Les Sylphides, Graduation Ball and Swan Lake Act II. Full length

classical masterpieces include Giselle, Coppélia and a lavish production of The Nutcracker.Contemporary classics include masterpieces by the legendary George Balanchine including

Serenade, Concerto Barocco and Who Cares? and a growing body of original work that

includes creative adaptations of much loved stories such as The Little Mermaid, Cinderella andDracula.

While the Company is based in the Inland Empire and performs its home season from

October to May as Company in Residence at the Bridges Auditorium in Claremont, InlandPacific Ballet serves a far-reaching audience from Redlands to Los Angeles. Festival programs

such as the Redlands Bowl Music Festival, Balletfest and Dance Kaleidoscope have allowed the

Company to reach an ever-expanding regional audience. Regional touring has included theLuckman Fine Arts Complex in Los Angeles, the Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks and the

Annenberg Theater in Palm Desert. National touring has included the Globe News Center for

the Performing Arts, Amarillo Texas.

I NLAND PAC IFI C BA LLE TV i c t o r i a K o e n i g , A r t i s t i c D i r e c t o r • K e v i n M y e r s , A s s o c i a t e D i r e c t o r


A Young Person's Guide to the BalletProgram Summary

Program Goals and Mission

The goal of Inland Pacific Ballet's Educational Outreach Program is to present ballet to

young people in a way that will have an enduring impact on their lives. With the decline of artseducation in public schools, Inland Pacific Ballet's Young Person's Guide to the Ballet (YPG) is

a vital cultural resource for children in the visual, musical, and movement arts in Los Angeles

and the Inland Empire. Inland Pacific Ballet promotes the unique power of the performing arts to

nourish our communities by enriching the lives of our children.

Program Description

Inland Pacific Ballet's Educational Outreach Program is the most extensive of its kind inSouthern California, bringing the beauty of ballet and classical music to thousands of children

each year. Students from public, private, home schooled and special needs schools take

exciting field trips to the historic Bridges Auditorium in Claremont to see traditional ballets suchas Coppélia and The Nutcracker as well as new classics like Inland Pacific Ballet's original

children's ballet The Little Mermaid and Cinderella.

The annual YPG program typically includes 8 to 10 special morning performances of

ballets chosen from Inland Pacific Ballet's repertoire that are especially suited to youngaudiences. Each Educational Outreach performance includes a lecture/demonstration on ballet

and stage technique, which also describes the workings of a live theater and shows how a

dancer tells a story without words. During the lecture/demonstration audience members areencouraged to participate in simple movement activities in their seats. Students then view a

lavish professional ballet performance, followed by a lively question and answer period and an

opportunity to meet the performers afterwards. For YPG we utilize one of the Inland Empire'streasures, historic Bridges Auditorium. This grand structure has an immediate, awe-inspiring

impact on young people, and has a seating capacity of 2,400 suitable for the large student

audiences that attend.

Program History and Success

Inland Pacific Ballet's Educational Outreach Program has experienced sustained andresounding success in its 15-year history, consistently serving 8 to 10,000 K-12 students each

year. Through successful partnerships with corporations, foundations and individuals this

program thrives. Together we have made the Educational Outreach Program available to over

100,000 students from throughout southern California.At a time when meaningful arts education in public schools is rare, A Young Person's

Guide to the Ballet is more important than ever and makes the performing arts accessible to

public, private and home school children in culturally diverse communities. More than 52 publicschool districts have participated in YPG. YPG is one of the most affordable educational

outreach programs in the region, provides students with an introduction to a world of culture and

tradition, which would be otherwise unavailable to them.


Correlation to California Visual and Performing Arts:Dance Content Standards

1.0 Artistic PerceptionProcessing, Analyzing, and Responding to Sensory Information Through the Language and

Skills Unique to Dance

A Young Person's Guide to the Ballet presents ballet to young people in a way that willhave an enduring impact on their lives. IPB presents a high quality production that connects

learning in the arts to movement and music. IPB performances provide opportunities for

students to learn about ballet and classical music, and to observe dance movement in ballet.Performers and the Artistic Director use lecture and demonstration models to share dance

techniques with students, and encourage students to observe and listen for these components

within the program.

2.0 Creative Expression

Creating, Performing, and Participating in DanceTo introduce the featured ballet excerpt, dancers are brought on stage to demonstrate

how they convey the story and express feelings through movement. Students then have a

chance to try the techniques shared with them by the artists. During the lecture/demonstration

by the Artistic Director, students are invited to "dance in their seats," with direction on what todo, but no music. Students learn a sequence of movements from the production and then

perform the sequence again with the music.

3.0 Historical and Cultural Context

Understanding the Historical Contributions and Cultural Dimensions of DanceStudents are introduced to classical and contemporary ballet movement, as well as

classical music through IPB's varied repertoire. The Little Mermaid includes music by several

well-known classical composers that was selected to help tell the story. Pre-performance

comments include an introduction to the country of origin, the original literature, and how thetraditions being represented in the performance relate to the students contemporary world.

Students are encouraged to compare and contrast differences between their own dance

traditions and those they are learning about.

4.0 Aesthetic ValuingResponding to, Analyzing, and Making Judgments About Works of Dance

Pre-visit background information is available this study guide and includes author

biography and links to composer biographies, an introduction to basic ballet movements, dance

vocabulary, and a review of theater etiquette. As students come into the theatre, they will seethe stage curtains open and dancers warming up before they are in costume and without sets or

stage lighting. They will also see some of the set pieces being moved onto the stage before the

curtain closes. A post-performance question and answer session with the Artistic Director givesstudents an opportunity to ask questions about they have seen.


5.0 Connections, Relationship, Applications

Connecting and Applying What Is Learned in Dance to Learning in Other Art Forms and SubjectAreas and to Careers

Students are exposed to high quality production values at IPB outreach performances.

These include music, lighting, set design, costumes and special effects. The Artistic Director

makes a point to discuss the fact that the music is specific for production. Though someproductions use a live orchestra, IPB works with music engineers to produce recorded music for

The Little Mermaid. Students also learn that costumes, sets and lighting are specifically

designed for each production, and often made in-house by highly skilled designers and artisans.

Connections to ELA, Social Science, and Science Standards

While most pre activities are geared towards VAPA standards, many of the postactivities reach across the curriculum to help reinforce Language Arts, Social Science and

Science standards. The study guide includes ready to use black line masters that incorporate

research based strategies including graphic organizers, and cloze activities.


Ballet as an Art Form

What is Dance?Bending, stretching, jumping, and turning, are all activities dancers do; however, dancers

work hard and long to transform these everyday movements into the language of dance. Ballet

is distinctive from dance in that it requires a special technique, established almost 500 years

ago, involving steps and body movements that are unique to this discipline.

The most striking feature of the technique is the turnout of the legs from the hip. This

turnout enables ballet dancers to move to either side as well as forward and back with equalease, giving them command over a full circle of movement. The dancer’s turnout from the hips

and strong frontal orientation of ballet staging can be traced to the European court tradition that

directed the performance toward the sovereign in attendance.

Classical ballet technique and steps create modern ballets in a different way. The dancers

wear simple leotards and tights and may dance in bare feet or soft slippers. In ballets where

there is no story to follow, the audience’s attention is drawn toward the shape and speed of thedancers’ movements to the music. Some modern choreographers don’t even use music; others

may use song or speech to accompany their steps. Alvin Ailey, Twyla Tharp, and William

Forsythe are modern choreographers who have used these methods.

Other distinct dance styles include:

Ethnic/Traditional: Any dance form developed by a particular culture, like African, Spanish,Russian, Chinese, Cuban, Hawaiian, etc.

Jazz: The truly American dance form. Originated in America, this form combines elements ofAfrican, modern, and ballet.

Modern: A dance form that originated around the turn of the century in both Europe andAmerica. Isadora Duncan, known as the “mother of modern dance,” began dancing barefoot

and without the traditional ballet costumes as a rebellion against the constraints of ballet.

Modern dance is based on the feet being parallel from the hips, rather than turned out as they

are in ballet.

Social: Any dance form that people enjoy when they are gathered together. Ballroom dancing,

street dancing, and folk dancing fit into this category.

Tap: Another distinctly American dance form, tap combines elements of jazz dance and borrows

from the Irish jig and Dutch clogging.


Basic Ballet Positions

First Position: The balls of the feet are turned out completely. The heels touch each other

and the feet face outward, trying to form a straight line.

Second Position: The balls of both feet are turned out completely, with the heels separated bythe length of one foot. Similar to first position, but the feet are spread apart.

Third Position: One foot is in front of the other with the front foot touching the middle of theback foot.

Fourth Position: The feet are placed the same as third position, but one step apart.

Fifth Position: With both feet touching, the toes of each foot reach the heel of the other.

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

WEBLINK: http://video.about.com/dance/The-Five-Ballet-Positions.htm

Pirouette: The pirouette, a spin around on one foot, is one of the most difficult of all

dance steps. To do a pirouette, you must make a complete turn around

yourself, while balancing on one foot. A pirouette may be performed en

dehors (turning away from the supporting leg) or en dedans (turning towardthe supporting leg). Pirouettes usually begin in fourth, fifth or second position.

Bourree: Bourree is a classical ballet movement in which the dancer glides across thefloor on pointe or releve with tiny steps.

Grand Jete: In ballet, jete means to jump or leap, and grand simply means big, so a grandjete is a big leap.

Pas de Deux: Pas de Deux is French for "Step of Two" and is what partnering is called in

ballet. By dancing with a partner the lady can jump higher, take positions shewould never be able to on her own, and "float" about the stage as she is

carried by her partner. A partner allows a man to extend his line and show off

his strength.


Ballet & Dance Vocabulary

Abstraction – An idea or concept conveyed through movement and removed from its originalcontext.

Aesthetic criteria – Standards applied in making judgments about the artistic merit of a work.

Axial movement – Movement anchored to one spot by a body part. Movement is organized

around the axis of the body and is not designed for travel from one location to another. Also

known as nonlocomotor movement. Examples include stretching, bending, turning in place,gesturing.

Accent – A strong movement or gesture.

Balance – A state of equilibrium referring to the balance of weight or the spatial arrangement of

bodies.

Ballet – A classical Western dance form that originated in the Renaissance courts of Europe.

By the time of Louis XIV (mid-1600s), steps and body positions underwent codification.

Ballerina – A female ballet dancer of the highest ranking.

Barre – The place where a dancer goes to begin his/her class work. The barre is a long pole

that gives the dancer support. After the dancer has done barre work to warm up, he/she willmove to the center the classroom or studio to practice increasingly complex steps.

Choreography – ("dance writing") The creation and composition of dances by arranging orinventing steps, movements, and patterns of movements.

Composer – one who writes music.

Corps de ballet – A group of dancers who work together as an ensemble. They form the

background for the ballerina and her partner and are the backbone of any ballet company.

Dance Sequence – The order in which a series of movements and shapes occurs.

Divertissements – Consist of a variety of short dances inserted in certain ballets asentertainment.

Genre – A particular kind or style of dance, such as ballet, jazz, modern, folk, tap.

Gesture – The movement of a body part or combination of parts, with emphasis on the

expressive aspects of the move. It includes all movements of the body not supporting weight.

Libretto – The text on which a ballet is choreographed; the story of a ballet.

Motif – A distinctive and recurring gesture used to provide a theme or unifying idea.

Pantomime – The art of telling a story, expressing a mood or an emotion or describing an

action without words.


Partner and group skills – Skills that require cooperation, coordination, and dependence,including imitation, lead and follow, echo, mirroring, and call and response.

Pas de Deux – a dance for two people, traditionally between a ballerina and the male dancer of

the highest ranking.

Phrasing – The way in which the parts of a dance are organized.

Pointe Shoes – Shoes worn by female dancers that enable them to dance on the tips of their

toes. The area covering the toe is made of layers of fabric glued together in the shape of a

“box” covered in satin and hardened. The sole is made of hard leather to prevent the shoe frombreaking when bent. To keep the shoes on tightly, the dancers sew satin ribbons and elastic to

the sides and tie the ribbons securely around their ankles. A pair of pointe shoes may only last

for 3 to 4 days of work.

Rehearse - to practice.

Set Designer – a person who creates the scenic design.

Scenic design – Like costumes and makeup, scenic design helps to tell the story or set the

mood of the ballet. The set must be designed so that the dancer can enter and exit according tothe choreographer’s wishes.

Shape – The positioning of the body in space: curved, straight, angular, twisted, symmetrical, or

asymmetrical.

Technique – The physical skills of a dancer that enable him or her to execute the steps and

movements required in different dances. Different styles or genres of dance often have specifictechniques.

Tempo – The speed of music or a dance.

Turnout – The ability of the dancer to turn their feet and legs outward from the hip joints to close to a

180-degree position.

Tutu – Ballet skirt, usually made of net or tulle. Tutus may be of varying lengths. While the

style and mood of the ballet help to determine the preferred tutu length, the dancer’s technique

is most clearly visible when she wears a short tutu.


Inland Pacific Ballet's Story of “The Little Mermaid”Literary Response and Analysis

Grade 2 – Std. 3.1, 3.2, 3.3; Grade 3-5 – Std. 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4Grade 6 – Std. 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.6; Grade 7 – Std. 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4

Grade 8 – 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5; Grades 9-10 – Std. 3.5; Grades 11-2 – Std. 3.2, 3.6.

In another time, in a place far under the sea, there lived a mermaid princess. Her father’s kingdomwas more beautiful than can be imagined; yet every night, The Little Mermaid dreamed of the worldat the surface. Her father, the Sea King, would allow his daughters to visit the surface on their

fifteenth birthday. Being the youngest of six princesses, the Little Mermaid never tired of listening tothe stories of her older sisters.

When at last, her own fifteenth birthday came, the Little Mermaid could hardly wait for the festivitiesto end. Once she had her father’s blessing, she rose up through the sea like a water-bubble. Shearrived in time to see the most beautiful sunset, and as twilight fell upon the sea, a ship sailed into

view, and from the ship came fireworks and noises of a great celebration. The curious mermaidswam near to the ship so she could see the humans. The most handsome of all was a young prince.As the evening went on, however, the wind began to blow and the swells began to grow. A terrible

storm was brewing. The mighty waves tossed the ship as lightning burned through the sky. Finallythe ship gave in to the sea. The Little Mermaid knew she must save the Prince who was drowning.She lifted his head above the surface until the storm had passed. By this time, morning had broken,

and she had brought him to a calm beach in a tiny bay leaving him safely on the sand. The LittleMermaid watched over the Prince to make sure he would be all right. In a short time, a young schoolgirl went that way. For a moment, she was startled, but soon the Prince came around. He was safe,but did not know that the Little Mermaid had saved his life.

Saddened to think she might never see him again, the Little Mermaid swam back to her father’spalace deep beneath the waves. Many nights thereafter, she would swim to the place where she lefthim hoping to see him once more, for she had fallen in love with him. As a last resort, she knew shemust consult the Sea Witch, of whom she had always been so afraid. The Sea Witch lived in another

part of the sea. It was a scary journey past scary creatures and old shipwrecks. The Sea Witch knewwhy the Little Mermaid had come and was quite willing to help. She would make a potion that wouldgive the mermaid legs instead of a fishtail. She would appear graceful and lovely, but as payment to

the witch, she must give up her voice. She must have the Prince fall in love with her, for if he marriesanother, she will die. Desperate, the Little Mermaid agreed, and the potion was made. She drank itdown, and as her tail divided into two legs, the mermaid’s wish to become human came true.

The next morning, the Little Mermaid woke up on the beach where the Prince’s castle overlooked

the sea. Soon, the Prince happened upon the mermaid, but without her voice, she could not tell himwho she was or where she had come from. The Prince took her back to his castle where they quicklybecame great friends. At last, the time had come for the Prince to choose a bride. Knowing that the

Prince had never forgotten the face of the young schoolgirl, the Sea Witch lured her to his castle.Thinking that she might have been the one who saved him, he chose her to marry. After the Princeannounced his engagement, the Little Mermaid’s heart was broken, as she believed that she notonly lost the man she loved, but also would die. The Sea King confronted the Sea Witch and begged

her to break the spell, but she would not do it. Even with his own powerful magic, he could notchange her spell, but he could add to it. If the Prince realized that he loved the Little Mermaid, theywould both turn into merfolk and live safely beneath the sea. The Prince saw the Little Mermaid as

she bid good-bye to her sisters at the sea’s edge. Only then could the Prince see the sacrifice thatthe Little Mermaid had made to be with him, and knew that he could not be happy without her. Hetold her of his love and at that moment, they were magically transported to the undersea world

where they had a grand wedding and lived together, happily under the sea.


About The AuthorLiterary Response and Analysis

Grade 6 – Std 3.5

Hans Christian Andersen1805 - 1875

Hans Christian Andersen was the first Danish

author to emerge from the lowest class. He

enjoyed fame as a novelist, dramatist, andpoet, but his fairy tales are his greatest

contribution to world literature.

Early life

Hans Christian Andersen was born on April 2,

1805, in Odense, Denmark. His father was a

shoemaker, and his mother earned moneywashing other people's clothes. His parents

spoiled him and encouraged him to develop

his imagination. At the age of fourteen,Andersen convinced his mother to let him try

his luck in Copenhagen, Denmark, rather than

studying to become a tailor. When she asked

what he planned to do in Copenhagen, hereplied, "I'll become famous! First you suffer

cruelly, and then you become famous."

For three years Andersen lived in one of Copenhagen's most run-down areas. He tried to

become a singer, a dancer, and an actor, but he failed. When he was seventeen, a government

official arranged a scholarship for him in order to give him a second chance to receive aneducation. But he was a poor student and was never able to study successfully. He never

learned how to spell or how to write in Danish. As a result his writing style remained close to the

spoken language and still sounds fresh today, unlike the work of other writers from the same

era.

After spending seven years at school, mostly under the supervision of a principal who seems to

have hated him, Andersen celebrated the passing of his university exams in 1828 by writing hisfirst narrative. The story was a success, and it was quickly followed by a collection of poems.

Andersen's career as an author had begun, and his years of suffering were at an end.

Literary career

In 1835 Andersen completed his first novel, The Improvisatore, and he published his first small

volume of fairy tales, an event that attracted little attention at the time. The Improvisatore, like

most of Andersen's novels, was based on his own life. It was a success not only in Denmark butalso in England and Germany. He wrote five more novels, but as a writer of drama, Andersen

failed almost completely. Many of his poems are still a part of popular Danish literature,

however, and his most lasting contributions, after the fairy tales, are his travel books and hisautobiography (the story of his own life).


A lifelong bachelor, Andersen was frequently in love (with, among others, the singer Jenny

Lind). He lived most of his life as a guest at the country homes of wealthy Danish people. Hemade many journeys abroad, where he met and in many cases became friends with well-known

Europeans, among them the English novelist Charles Dickens (1812–1870).

Fairy tales

Andersen began his fairy-tale writing by retelling folk tales he had heard as a child from his

grandmother and others. Soon, however, he began to create his own stories. Most of his tales

are original. The first volumes written from 1835 to 1837 contained nineteen stories and werecalled Fairy Tales Told for Children. In 1845 the title changed to New Fairy Tales. The four

volumes appearing with this title contained twenty-two original tales and are considered

Andersen's finest works. In 1852 the title was changed to Stories, and from then on the volumeswere called New Fairy Tales and Stories. During the next years Andersen published a number

of volumes of fairy tales. His last works of this type appeared in 1872. Among his most popular

tales are "The Ugly Duckling," "The Princess and the Pea," and "The Little Mermaid."

At first Andersen was not very proud of his fairy-tale writing, and, after talks with friends and

Danish critics, he considered giving them up. But he later came to believe that the fairy tale

would be the "universal poetry" (poetry that exists in all cultures) of which so many romanticwriters dreamed. He saw fairy tales as the poetic form of the future, combining folk art and

literature and describing both the tragic and the comical elements of life. Andersen's tales form

a rich, made-up world. While children can enjoy most of the tales, the best of them are writtenfor adults as well. The tales also take on different meanings to different readers, a feat only a

great poet can accomplish. Andersen died in Copenhagen, Denmark, on August 4, 1875.

Source: http://www.notablebiographies.com/A-An/Andersen-Hans-Christian.html

Web Links:

Extended Biography: http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/hcanders.htm

The Little Mermaid story and links to other Andersen stories:

http://www.online-literature.com/hans_christian_andersen/2084/

Chronological list of published works: http://hca.gilead.org.il/

New York Times Obituary:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A06E2D7123BEF34BC4D53DFBE6683

8E669FDE


About the Choreographers

Daniel Kirk has been a part of the Portland dance scene for twelve years. He joined Oregon

Ballet Theater in 1989, has danced with The Gregg Bielemeier Dance Project, The Portland

Opera, The Musical Theater Co. as well as other independent projects. He has also performed

with the Los Angeles Chamber Ballet under director Victoria Koenig and The Joffrey Ballet.

Many of the roles Daniel has danced include new works by James Canfield and Dennis Spaight.

He has danced various roles in the classics and 20th century classics by Paul Taylor, Antony

Tudor, Jose Limon, and Agnes DeMille, as well as new pieces by Jamey Hampton, Karole

Armitage, Donald Byrd, and Bebe Miller. Daniel is currently working with Jamey Hampton and

Ashley Roland in their company BODYVOX, which has toured throughout the U.S. and to

Canada and Italy. BODYVOX performances include The Big Room, Carmina Burana, and a

thousand little cities. Now in his sixth season performing with Inland Pacific Ballet, Daniels’s

long association with the company includes choreography for IPB’s children’s classic The Little

Mermaid.

Eric Skinner has been working on the West Coast as both a performer and choreographer

for over sixteen years. Eric originally trained as a gymnast before receiving his B.A. in Dance

from Butler University. He has danced professionally with the Milwaukee Ballet, Ballet Oregon,

Pacific Ballet Theatre, Los Angeles Chamber Ballet, and was a founding member of Oregon

Ballet Theatre. He has performed work of noted classical and contemporary choreographers

including George Balanchine, Dennis Spaight, James Canfield, Paul Taylor, Bebe Miller, Donald

Byrd and Jonathan Wolken of Pilobolus. He danced with contemporary choreographer Gregg

Bielemeier and was a founder of aero/betty aerial dance theatre before joining artistic directors

Jamey Hampton and Ashley Roland in their innovative dance company, Bodyvox, in which he

performs and serves as Artistic Associate. Eric is additionally Co-Artistic Director of the

Skinner/Kirk Ensemble, which serves as a vehicle for his choreographic inventions.

Commissioned work for IPB: The Little Mermaid, x-axis.


Music and ComposersMusic

Grade K – Std. 5.1, 5.2; Grade 1 – Std 4.1, 4.2Grade 2 – Std. 5.2; Grade 3 – Std. 4.3, 5.2; Grade 4 – Std. 5.3

Opening scene:

Maurice Ravel Introduction and Allegro for Harp; String Quartet

for Flute and Clarinet

School Girls, Sailors:Benjamin Britten A Young Person’s Guide To The Orchestra

Sea sounds before ship:Maurice Ravel Daphnis And Chloe

Mermaid Solo:Antonin Dvorak Rusalka, Song to the Moon

Storm:

Ralph Vaughn Williams Symphony #6

On the Beach, Ball:

Claude Debussy Dances for Harp – Sacred and Profane

Triptych:

Ralph Vaughn Williams Fantasia On A Theme By Thomas Tallis

Finale:

Benjamin Britten Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge

Very End of Finale:

Leos Janacek The Cunning Little Vixen

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Composer Biography Links

Benjamin Britten (1913 – 1976)

Classics for Kids – biographyhttp://www.classicsforkids.com/composers/bio.asp?id=10

Classics for Kids radio show about Benjamin Brittenhttp://www.classicsforkids.com/shows/showview.asp?ID=8

http://www.dsokids.com/listen/ComposerDetail.aspx?composerID=41

http://www.brittenpears.org/?page=britten/biography/


Claude Debussy (1862 – 1918)

Classics for Kids biographyhttp://www.classicsforkids.com/composers/bio.asp?id=16

Classics for Kids radio show about Claude Debussyhttp://www.classicsforkids.com/shows/showview.asp?ID=21


http://www.humanitiesweb.org/human.php?s=r&p=a&a=i&ID=752

Maurice Ravel (1875 – 1937)

http://www.8notes.com/biographies/ravel.asp

http://classiccat.net/ravel_m/biography.htm

http://www.humanitiesweb.org/human.php?s=c&p=a&a=i&ID=755

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/education/ravel.html

Antonin Dvorak (1841 – 1904)

Classics for Kids biographyhttp://www.classicsforkids.com/composers/bio.asp?id=17

Classics for Kids radio show about Claude Debussyhttp://www.classicsforkids.com/shows/showview.asp?ID=24


http://www.humanitiesweb.org/human.php?s=r&p=a&a=i&ID=745

Ralph Vaughn Williams (1872 – 1958)

Classics for Kids biographyhttp://www.classicsforkids.com/composers/bio.asp?ID=59

Classics for Kids online Quizhttp://www.classicsforkids.com/shows/showdesc.asp?id=5

Leos Janacek (1854 – 1928)

http://www.answers.com/topic/leos-janacek

http://www.bookrags.com/biography/leos-janacek/


Theatre Etiquette

Grade K – History/Social Studies: Std. 1-3.Grade 3 – Dance: Std. 2.6, 4.2; Music Std. 4.4

Grade 4 – Dance: Std. 4.4

General Information:• The performance will begin promptly and lasts from 60-75 minutes.

• Let your children know in advance what behavior is expected of them. This is a LIVE

performance. Unlike television of the movies, the people on stage are there at that

moment and are dancing for the audience’s pleasure. Any noise distracts them. Theperformance will be exciting, but let your children know that they will be required to sit

quietly in their seats for a fairly long period of time.

• School clothes are appropriate dress, however, some children may choose to “dress up.”• Please plan to arrive to Bridges Auditorium at least 30 minutes prior to the performance,

as latecomers cannot be seated once the performance has begun.

•

Once you arrive at the theatre, please….• No food, drink, chewing gum, cameras or recording equipment is allowed inside the

theatre. Please leave these items at home as we do not have provisions for storing

these items at the theatre.• It is important to accompany your children to the restrooms before the performance

begins. It is inappropriate to visit the restrooms during a live performance, unless there

is an emergency. Ushers will direct you to restrooms.• We recommend that you provide your children with some guidelines of things to look and

listen for during the performance. You may also want to encourage your children to add

to the following list.

Children should be encouraged to:

a. Watch the dancers.

b. Listen to the music.

c. Look at the costumes and set designs.

d. Laugh when they see the dancers doing something funny.

e. Clap when the dancing has finished to show the dancers that they are enjoying the

performance. It is customary to applaud when the dancers take a bow.

Children should be encouraged not to:

a. Talk or make noise because they might miss something important.

b. Chew gum or eat because it is disruptive to others and makes a mess in the theatre.

c. Leave their seats before the lights go on because this is very disruptive to their

neighbors.

d. Bring cameras, ipods, or headphones to the theatre because this is disruptive to the

dancers and other members of the audience.


Post-Performance Activities(NOTE: Page numbers for blackline masters for reproduction are noted in parentheses.)

Language Arts:

WritingGrades K-1 – Std 2.1

Have students write two sentences about what they liked best about the The LittleMermaid story or ballet. Have them draw a picture to go with their writing.

WritingGrades 2-3 – Std 2.2

Have students write a friendly letter to one of the characters or dancers from the LittleMermaid. Have students use sensory details to describe what they liked best about thecharacter they chose.

WritingGrades 5 – Std 2.4; Grade 6 – Std. 2.5

Have students write a letter to either the Sea King or the Sea Witch persuading him orher to let the Little Mermaid and Prince live half time bove ad half time below the water.Be sure to address the concerns of the Sea King or Sea Witch.

WritingGrades 5-6 – Std 2.1

Have students tell the story from the point of view of the Sea Witch. How would she tellthe story?

Language Arts: Compare/Contrast

ReadingK - Std 2.3, Grade 1 – Std. 2.6

Grade 3-4 – Std 3.2Literary Response and Analysis

Grades 2 – Std. 3.1

1) Read a version of the Little Mermaid aloud. The version of the The Little Mermaidthat you have read is different from what students saw in the ballet. Have students chartthe differences they notice on a Thinking Map or other graphic organizer. Depending onthe grade level, have your students use their graphic organizer to write compare andcontrast sentences, paragraph(s) or an essay.


Literary Response and AnalysisGrades 1-2 – Std. 3.1, Grade 3 Std 3.2,Grade 4 Std 3.2,3.4. Grade 6 – Std 3.4

Writing ApplicationsGrades 5, 7, 9-12 - Std 2.2

2) Have students compare The Little Mermaid with another folk tale, fairy tale or storythey have read or are familiar with. Students may compare and contrast the two storiesfrom any of a variety of angles; transformation, dream, journey, recurring characters, theproblem, the resolution, etc. Use a Venn diagram, Thinking Map or other graphicorganizer to record similarities and differences. Use the graphic organizer as pre writingto then write sentences, a paragraph, or an essay.

Change the Setting for the Little Mermaid

Social StudiesStandards - K.4, K.6, 1.4, 2.1, 4.1

Language ArtsLiterary Response and Analysis

Grades 1-2 – Std. 3.1; Grade 3 Std 3.2,Grade 4 Std 3.2, 3.4; Grade 6 – Std 3.4

Writing ApplicationsGrades 5, 7, 9-12 - Std 2.2

1.) For this production of The Little Mermaid, the ballet is set in the 1500s. Havestudents write about what would happen if the story took place in a different time periodand a different location. What would you change? (Costumes, sets, characters, music,landmarks, locations, events, animals, etc.) For Grades K-1, teachers can recordresponses on a graphic organizer. For Grade 4 students, change the setting toCalifornia.

2.) Have students re-write their own version of the story using a different setting, timeperiod, or both be sure that they consider how costumes, sets, characters, music,landmarks, locations, events, and animals might be different.

Social Studies: Families & TraditionsSocial Studies

Grads K-5- Std. 1.5 #3

The Little Mermaid story takes place at her 15th birthday and shows how her familycelebrates her coming-of-age. What coming-of-age traditions are special to your familyand friends? Use a Thinking Map or other graphic organizer to compare and contrastyour traditions with your parents or guardian. How is it different from your grandparents?


Science: HabitatScience

Grade 4 – Std 2a, 2b, 3a, 3c, 5b, Grade 6 5e

Have students consider the opening scenes in The Little Mermaid. Discuss what otherfish, sea mammals, and plants they might find living in this kind of habitat? What elsewould you likely find living in this habitat? Have students record their ideas on a graphicorganizer and draw pictures to go along with it.


The Little Mermaid

Name:____________________________________________ Date:______________________


Families & TraditionsGrades 1-8 (Social Studies 2.1)

The Little Mermaid story takes place on her 15th birthday and shows how

her family celebrates her coming-of-age. What coming-of-age traditions are

special to your family and friends? Use a Thinking Map or other graphic organizer

to compare and contrast your traditions with your parents or guardian. How is it

different from your grandparents?

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Describe any special foods, dances or activities your family celebrates:

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Name:____________________________________________ Date:______________________


The Little Mermaid: SettingGrades K-4 (Social Studies: K4, K6; 1.4, 2.1, 4.1)

What would happen if the ballet production of The Little Mermaid

were to be set in a different time period and a different location? Would the

ballet look different? Would the characters behave differently? Write about the

ballet of The Little Mermaid as if it were set in: ________________________.

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Name:____________________________________________ Date:______________________


The Little Mermaid: Compare and Contrast Venn Diagram

Name:____________________________________________ Date:______________________

_____________________________________ _____________________________________


HabitatGrade 4 & 6 (Science: 4th: 2a, 2b, 3a, 3c, 5b; 6th: 5e)

Consider the opening scene in The Little Mermaid. What fish, sea

mammals, or plants might you find living in this kind of habitat? What else

would you likely find living in this habitat? Write your ideas below, and draw a

picture on the reverse of this worksheet.

LESSON EXTENSION: Check this web site to see if your predictions were true and findout what you might have missed.

http://chalk.richmond.edu/education/projects/webunits/biomes/oceans.html

Name:____________________________________________ Date:______________________


Dance Match-Up

There are many different types of dance. Can you match the pictures with the name foreach style? Draw a line between the name and the picture. Circle the picture of the typeof dance you have seen.

Ballet

Hip Hop Dance

Ballroom Dancing

Square Dancing

Ballet Folklorico

Name:____________________________________________ Date:______________________


The Little Mermaid – Crossword Puzzle

Name:____________________________________________ Date:______________________

Across

3. what the Little Mermaid gives up

4. one who writes music

7. a classical western dance form

10. age of the Little Mermaid on her birthday

11. a female ballet dancer

13. a long pole that gives the dancer support

14. father of the Little Mermaid

15. who the prince first decides to marry

16. one who grants the Little Mermaid's wish

Down

1. where the merfolk live

2. the speed of music or a dance

5. a distinctive recurring gesture

6. a dance for two people

8. saves the Prince from drowning

9. to practice dance or music

12. The Little Mermaid author

16. a person who creates the scenic design

17. strong movement or gesture


The Little Mermaid – Word Search

D H W B B D E J E E H O L K P

V H S A A C X S Y R F I R C O

H M R I N L R B B U T K L E I

O R U I F O L L Y T C W D R N

E L R F H Y O E L S Y A T W T

M P L A Q B L E T E R U P P E

A R E L S K M L F G A E P I M

C S P T U E D N E C Z N V H O

X O E R R G M F H J B V X S V

C R M M S E A W I T C H B W E

X E A P B T K E A C C E N T M

O I C N O H C S S F I T O M E

D N A N A S Z W V M F O V E N

T E L L A B E D S P R O C F T

S I J W E D U R G N I K A E S

ACCENT

BALLET

BARRE

COMPOSER

CORPS DE BALLET

DANCE

GESTURE

JELLYFISH

LITTLE MERMAID

LOBSTER

MOTIF

MOVEMENT

POINTE

PRINCE

SEA GULL

SEAHORSE

SEA KING

SEA WITCH

SHIPWRECK

Name:____________________________________________ Date:______________________


Additional Resources

Bredsdorff, Elias. Hans Christian Andersen. New York: Scribner, 1975.

Wullschläger, Jackie. Hans Christian Andersen: The Life of a Storyteller. New York: Knopf,2001.

Online Resources

Inland Pacific Ballet www.ipballet.org

VIDEO: Inland Pacific Ballet - The Little Mermaid #2http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPIxBBgQYQs

"Telling A Story Through Dance" Lesson Plan

http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/2347

“The Language of Ballet” Lesson Plan

http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/2348/

“Ballet and Classical Music” Lesson Plan

http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/2234/

About Oceans and Seas: Coral Reef Animals

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/ocean/Coralreef.shtml

“The Realm of Fairy Tales” Web Quest

http://www-ma.beth.k12.pa.us/jhoke/jhwebquest/jhwebquest.htm

Hans Christian Andersen Biography - life, children, parents, story, school, mother, information,

born, time

http://www.notablebiographies.com/A-An/Andersen-Hans-Christian.html - ixzz0hExN9uoS

References

California Department of Education - Content Standards & Framework

http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/

Grant, Gail. Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Ballet (Third revised edition), Dover

Publications, 1967/1982.

Documents

"The Little Mermaid Study Guide"