Freedom

Justice & Human Rights

Dollar A Day

Global Interdependence

Carnival

Sustainable Development

The Leaving

Refugees

One Fine Day

A Hope For The Future

Origins

Strength in Diversity

Chains

One of the main ideas behind Chains was to produce a resource that teachers could use to fulfil the National Curriculum dance requirement for PE teaching at Key Stage 3. To this end the full video of Chains contains dance tutorials by the choreographer Chris Baldock on sections of the routines he put together for the performance video. The clips shown here are of the complete performances of each of the six dances rather than these tutorial clips. For details of how to get the dance tutorial videos please get in touch via the contact page.

The narrative theme of Chains is global interdependence and the need for all peoples to have their rights met for freedom to work, practice their language, religion and culture, and to live a decent life, in peace, with their families. In order to bring these themes to the stage in dance Chains is made up of six movements that create a dramatic whole.

Dollar A Day

Global Interdependence

Dollar a Day introduces global interdependence. The action cuts from a group of young people in fashionable clothes at a club to scenes of hard labour and the sweatshop conditions in which their fashionable outfits are often produced by young people like themselves in other countries.

Freedom

Justice & Human Rights

Freedom illustrates the plight of the world's poorest peoples, who are often oppressed, unheard and brutally punished for speaking out, yet who persistently demonstrate to try to achieve their basic rights.

The Leaving

Refugees

The Leaving shows how every year millions of people, mainly women and children, are forced to leave their homes because of extreme poverty, persecution, or war.

Carnival

Sustainable Development

A carnival is great fun, but while the 'rich' world is ‘partying’ they are consuming the environment at an alarming rate and the world's poorest often have to scratch a living from their leftovers.

Origins

Strength in Diversity

The origins of their culture is important for everyone, but few realise how much of their 'traditional' culture and language may have originated elsewhere. The international language of dance and music does much to unite the world.

One Fine Day

A Hope For The Future

One Fine Day expresses the optimism of a future in which people care what happens in the world - The future will be what we all make of it!

Chains

Words and Music by Greg Snape

Choreography by Chris Baldock

How it happened...

In early 2001 the ISTD was approached by Greg Snape on behalf of UNICEF (The United Nations Children's Fund) with a proposal. UNICEF had a project in which they wanted to utilise dance and were therefore looking for assistance from a respected organisation to ensure that all the dance elements were carried out correctly and professionally.

The ISTD was more than willing to assist UNICEF with their plans because it believed the project would raise the profile of the Society and its members within secondary schools, whilst at the same time demonstrating its involvement with children, a common link between both organisations.