Constellations

Welcome back to 2025 Musical Theatre Classes! 
We are so enjoying reconnecting with our fabulous high school aged returning students, and getting to know some wonderful students who are new to Stage Door this year!

So far this term the class have been doing some great physical work. 
They have learnt their warm up dance routine 'CUPID SHUFFLE' as well as exploring 'Corner work' exercises using a drum. This helps students to feel and understand rhythms, as the tutor creates scenarios our students have been manipulating their bodies and discovering amazing movements.

Learning and honing good dance technique benefits us hugely as performers, helping us to gain strength, stamina, confidence, progression and learning how to use our bodies correctly and safely when dancing.

This week we focused particularly on the following: 

BALL CHANGES
- see saw 
- ruler stans

ISOLATIONS 
(ie isolating one part of the body then combining them into a combination) 
- roll shoulder forward
- arm in pizza slice in front of the body and engaged from the shoulder blades
- the knee turned in is the shoulder turned in 
- contract the chest in

During Term One our Zodiacs and Constellations classes will be combining to work on the song 'Alexander Hamilton' from the hit Broadway musical Hamilton.
This week we got familiar with the song, learning the melody, rhythms and lyrics.
Homework this week is to practice singing the song, working to memorise the accents (claps) as rehearsed in class. 

HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:
- Learn the second section of the song off by heart (ie from line #43 to the end) 
- Learn the highlighted lines in the first section by heart
- Practice all of the accents (claps) as rehearsed in class this week
- Optional: anyone interested in singing/rapping solo should run through the first section of the song a few times in preparation to sing along (words in hand) next week. 

The resources for Zodiacs and Constellations (ie Song Tracks, Song Lyrics, Notices etc) can be found to the far right of this page, above the tutor pics.

During Term One our focus for all of Stage Door's school aged classes is on establishing connections and creating a safe and fun classroom environment where we hope our students will be able to relax, have fun and grown in confidence and skill throughout the year. We take time to get to know each other, play games and invest in activities designed to promote connection, team work and fun. We find that doing this at the start of the year is absolutely vital to establishing a class culture and environment inline with our tag line that Stage Door is a place "Where Everyone Belongs". 

Throughout the year our Constellations class will work on several numbers that they will ultimately present at our Musical Theatre End of Year Showcase performances at the end of the year, on Saturday 22 November, 2025 (scroll down for more information about our 2025 Musical Theatre Showcase). 

Parents and Students are asked to keep an eye on this page, where updates, practice resources and homework notes will be regularly added throughout the year. 

TERM ONE SONG:
Alexander Hamilton, from the musical Hamilton

Song lyrics and practice tracks for all Constellations songs can be downloaded from this webpage for practicing at home. Click on the song title listed on the right hand side of the page, under Resources (above the tutor pics) to access these.