Dance Curriculum Toolkit

Title of Resource: Cats Cradle

 

Target Audience: Educators

 

Description of Resource: The video or Carolyn Dorfman's, Cat's Cradle, is a physical representation of the stories her mother and grandmother told her of their time in the concentrations camps during the Holocaust.  Carolyn Dorfman explains, "During the Nazi Regime of World War II, Theresienstadt was a ghetto in Czechoslovakia. Constructed by the Germans as a model city for the world to see, music, theater and opera became both a voluntary and involuntary part of its fabric. A city originally meant to house 5,000 people; it became a holding ground for well over 100.000 Jews and others who were ultimately destined for the gas chambers of Auschwitz. What is even more astonishing than the pain they endured is the life and light they embodied and the ability of the human spirit to soar amidst the darkness. It is a story of survival, will and connection, past and present. It is the story of my family, my people and the human race."  This video shows her choreographic interpretation of the stories her mother and family told her about life in the camps and is her artistic vision as the choreography of her company to share such a powerful piece with the world. 

 

Appropriateness for High School Students: This is appropriate for high school students, as they will have studied the Holocaust earlier in their schooling and have a general understanding of what occurred during the Holocaust.  This gives the students perspective and insight into understanding the piece of choreography and how it relates to the events that occurred during the Holocaust.  By exposing students to this aspect of dance, they are able to conceptualize clearer the harsh realities of what actually happened.  This piece of choreography by Carolyn Dorfman is a very heavy, deep piece that students younger than high schools may not be able to take about significant meaning from because they have not learned enough about those events in history yet.

 

Use of Resource in Classroom/Ways to Implement this Resource in my Classroom: 

I would use this video to supplement a lesson about the Holocaust in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day.  This video is a great segway into a lesson about the History, Culture and Dance during the time of World War II.  Developing the Historical elements with the Dance History and Culture of that time makes for an enriching lesson for the students.  

 

Strengths of Resource as a Teaching Tool (Purpose, Value, Uniqueness, Positive Aspects):  As a dance educator, I think that Carolyn Dorfman's choreography of "Cat's Cradle" represents and demonstrates so many of the elements of choreography construction that are talked about throughout the year in dance education with students.  The ability to tell a story a through movement, the ability to express feelings and emotions through movement, the ability to portray a message through movement, and well as develop choreography that is aesthetically pleasing for the audience to watch.   I think that Carolyn Dorfmans choreography is powerful and very intimate for audiences.  She has the ability to connect to her audience in ways that many choreographers cannot and I think that it is important for students to be able to identify how and why her piece is so impactful.  If students can identify what these qualities are in her choreography, they will be able to find more success in their own work by implementing aspects of our discussion into their work in order to make a larger statement.  Another positive aspect of sharing this beautifully horrific piece of choreography with my students is that I am able to expose them to dance as a true art of expression.  Cat's Cradle is a very personal piece for Carolyn Dorfman as it is based on the stories her parents told her when she was a child through adulthood as they survived the Holocaust.  Holocaust Remembrance Day and Cat's Cradle although they have a connection to Judaism and Jewish Culture, the real heart of the lesson is actually centralized around World War II and the Holocaust.  

 

Possible Modifications to Resource (Weaknesses, Limitations, Supplemental Resources):  This video would need to be used as a supplemental resource for a lesson that is focused on the Holocaust.  I know that there are mixed feelings around the world about whether or not the Holocaust actually happened, however, I feel very strongly about Holocaust Remembrance day not just because of my connection to Judaism but because I do believe that if we don't remember and we all ourselves to forget, there will be another Holocaust.  Using this video as the dance connection to another lesson, I think brings students in and allows them to engage in the material.  An example of a lesson plan that I believe would coincide with this video is, The Lesson Plan: The Holocaust, provided by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.  This lesson plan can be found at: http://hmd.org.uk/sites/default/files/

HMD_files/lesson_plan_-_the_holocaust.pdf.  There are multiple lessons within this document from the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust that could be manipulated depending on what the class dynamic asks for as a means of connecting History and Dance together.

 

Resource Citation:

Dorfman, C. (2008). Cat's cradle - talking suitcase & caberet. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/PuVKitBd3zM

 

Holocaust Memorial Day Fund.Lesson plan: The holocaust. Retrieved from http://hmd.org.uk/sites/default/files/HMD_files/lesson_plan_-_the_holocaust.pdf