Lindsay Shields Lindsay Shields is the first high school teacher in America to use the dancical Jitterbug! in the classroom. We love that she will be using it in one of her English Language Learning classes at Flushing High and taking her students on field trips to see the actual places found in the play. But, because she is a drama teacher, she is also planning on performing site specific excerpts from the play at each spot.
This is a great way to introduce kids to America's history by using this uniquely American story that showcases how great things can come from hard work, not giving up, and people of all colors working together. Plus it frames the evolution of jazz through the dancical's selections from the Great American Songbook, ranging from a turn of the 20th Century's simple use of a couple of piano chords from the "Buck Dancer's Lament" in a tap dance smackdown scene between the dancical's hero Billy Rhythm and the legendary Bojangles Robinson, through 1930's swing music and finally through the use of Ornette Coleman's invention of "Free Jazz" to accent the smackdown of the dancical's hero. We love it!
Ms. Shields expects to begin working on this project by December or February (January is a testing month). You can bet we will keep you posted.
God love her!
This is a great way to introduce kids to America's history by using this uniquely American story that showcases how great things can come from hard work, not giving up, and people of all colors working together. Plus it frames the evolution of jazz through the dancical's selections from the Great American Songbook, ranging from a turn of the 20th Century's simple use of a couple of piano chords from the "Buck Dancer's Lament" in a tap dance smackdown scene between the dancical's hero Billy Rhythm and the legendary Bojangles Robinson, through 1930's swing music and finally through the use of Ornette Coleman's invention of "Free Jazz" to accent the smackdown of the dancical's hero. We love it!
Ms. Shields expects to begin working on this project by December or February (January is a testing month). You can bet we will keep you posted.
God love her!
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