Grade 6 and 7 Students Perfect Slick Moves and Throwdowns 

During January, the dance studio at the Senior School was filled with the sounds of slaps, punches, hair pulling and falls. Fortunately, this “violence” had nothing do to with the WWF and everything to do with William Shakespeare.

Those sounds effects, in fact, were all part of the workshops in stage combat conducted for all Grade 6 and 7 students by renowned stage combat director Daniel Levinson. His fight direction includes work at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, the Canadian Opera Company and Tarragon Theatre, among others.

The students took part in two, one-hour workshops. The first focussed on safety and thinking imaginatively about fight choreography, followed by a primer on lapel throws, and how to fall believably and dramatically.

Next, the students learned how to create eye-fooling slaps and punches, hair pulling altercations and strangleholds. One of the key aspects of the workshops was having the students master the technical details of stage combat while seamlessly integrating the moves into the theatrically of a production.

And the students not only learned about stage combat, they had a great time doing so! Reliable reports also say the workshops were equally enjoyed by drama teacher Mme Kemeny, who was seen trying out a lapel throw or two herself.

The students will soon be putting those new moves into action, as they build their own short fight passes to incorporate into scene study work.