The reign of Henry 8th and life in Tudor England explored through movement and dance.
2. The golden years
Henry was married to Catherine of Aragon - his first wife - for almost 20 years. They were the perfect royal couple and the people rejoiced as the years of restraint under Henry VII appeared to have ended.
Henry and Catherine regularly travelled around their kingdom to assert sovereignty and win the loyalty of subjects. These royal progresses also provided opportunities to hunt, avoid the plague (that thrived in cities) and to share the cost of maintaining the court with richer subjects.
Go to the Teacher's Notes to download the Tudor music clips used in this unit.
Resources
Download the audio for this dance session as an mp3 file
Download / print guidance on using the dance sessions in this unit (pdf)
Lesson summary
Warm up: Tudor Tennis. Add some fancy footwork to the exaggerated arm-swinging tennis moves practised in the previous programme.
Sequence 1: The Royal Progress. Couples line up one behind the other to form a long, class procession which travels majestically round the edge of the room using 鈥楾he Pavan鈥 step pattern.
Sequence 2: Village Circle Dance. In group circles of 8 or 10. Country dancing was simpler and more repetitive than the dances of the Royal Court. Many of the dances were associated with traditional customs and rituals, such as dancing round the Maypole.
Performance: Both of today鈥檚 sequences are linked for a final performance.
Cool down: Slow, relaxed steps taking deep, gentle breaths to travel through the spaces - imagine you are walking home along a warm, starlit country lane after a long day of dancing at the village fair.
Other units of KS2 Dance Workshop
Victorian childhoods. collection
Three dance sessions exploring what life was like for children in Victorian times.
Romans. collection
A series of KS2 dance sessions for primary pupils aged 7 - 11 exploring the theme of Romans.
Wonders of the world. collection
Three dance sessions inspired by world famous landscapes and buildings.
See also...
The Tudors. collection
Age 7 - 11. Topics include the reigns of Henry 8th and Elizabeth 1st, Tudor seafaring, Tudor medicine, rich and poor, work and play, Tudor exploration and Elizabethan theatre.
Pavans and pageantry. video
Elizabeth I and Henry VIII
