No Cinderella rehearsal this Thursday + Securing places for A to Zee's next term Jan 2012

Hello,

I have to go to Abacus tomorrow to discuss stage and arrangements for the children...so no Cinderella rehearsal this Thursday.

Look forward to seeing all the children on Saturday at 2pm. Please can the children be fetched after class at 4.30pm.

For those children who are interested I would be happy to sign the children in at the Madras Club for an hour of of Christmas stories, a puppet show, and some informal carol singing for all the children. 5pm-6pm on the same Saturday Dec 3rd. Just let me know? I will leave for the Madras club at 4.30 with the said kids in tow.You can fetch them from the club at 6pm.

Any children who are members should be fetched and taken separately - I won't be able to ferry them - have limited space in my car.

Fees / booking places for next term

I am delighted (and slightly taken aback) at the number of calls I am getting - new children wanting to join A to Zee, but I can really only handle a limited number, so as always those already in the class will get priority until a certain date - December 10th. 

Please can you let me know by the end of this week, and to secure places please can you send the fees for next term? The details about next term's theme and the fees for 2012 are listed if you scroll down.

I will open up to confirm new kids from Dec 10th onwards. Hope this sounds fair?

The plan for the rest of this term:

Show dates: 

11 Dec (Sunday) 10.30am Freemasons Hall

16 Dec (Friday) 1.30pm Abacus school Perungudi (pls volunteer cars for carpooling to get there)

We will perform the 3 plays plus the Christmas Carol medley - none of the Sixties items since we already performed those earlier this term - we will surely revisit the Sixties at some point - so many more lovely songs we could do!

Rehearsal schedule in the run up to the shows:

24 Nov (Thu): 3.30pm-5.00pm Cinderella rehearsal

27 Nov (Sun): 3-5.30pm All children A to Zee regular class (3.30pm Harry Potter adults to arrive)

29 Nov (Tue): 3.30pm Harry Potter rehearsal

3 Dec (Sat): A to Zee regular class (2pm-4.30pm)

5 Dec (Mon): 3.30pm-5pm Cinderella rehearsal

6 Dec (Tue): 3.30pm-5pm Harry Potter rehearsal

7 Dec (Wed): 3.30pm-5pm Cinderella rehearsal
9 Dec (Fri): 3.30pm-6pm All 3 plays + carols + dances - full class
10 Dec (Sat): 2pm - will try to get venue for a rehearsal there...tbc
11 Dec (Sun): Showtime! Freemason's Hall. All children to be there by 9.30am! Show is from 10.30am till noon.
Bring costumes, water bottle and a snack. 

Please read on...

As you know next term will begin mid-Jan 2012 for approx 3 months.

The theme is Country and Western, so Country music, cowboy hats, lots of denim, waistcoats, line dancing, etc. There will be a small end of term show as usual at our place or at Spaces or in the plaza - or at the beach - we will see.

The main plays we will work on for end of 2012 will (most probably) be:

Beauty and the Beast

Snow White and the seven dwarves

Harry Potter - 2

We will work on these plays through the three terms, and do the show in Nov/Dec. If children have to leave inbetween I will adjust.

A to Zee timings: 3.30pm till 6pm on Fridays. Two and a half hours would be better than two - gives me more time to do all the things we would like to do with the kids...of course if you need to fetch them earlier you can, but ideally I would like to have them for this amount of time if at all possible.

Also, in addition to the regular Friday class, we will throw in a special singing session every few weeks on a Saturday at the old timings of 2.30 to 4.30. These special singing dates will be announced at the start of the term.

Fees for each 3-month term are Rs.3500 for each term in the year 2012. These can be paid either later this term or in the first week of next term. 

The offering remains the same, each class will have at least three of the following elements:Theatre, Singing, Dancing, Poetry, Art/Craft, Gardening, Photography, Baking...and forgot to mention Carpentry will be incorporated at some stage in 2012 - with workmen's gloves and goggles, and only for those who want to do it.

Do let me know if these new timings work for you, and if your child is coming back for more A to Zee Creativity next term! :) I have the following who have expressed interest so far:

Aalia - confirmed (paid on 24 Nov 2011)

Adam - confirmed (smiled at me)

Ameya

Arav 

Chahna

Dhruv
Kyra Philip

Mahima

Muskan

Riyah

Sadhvi

Samar

Saniya

Sitara

Tara
Tarush

Tulasi
Zai - confirmed (big toothy grin + kiss)
New children interested to join next term:

Rishaa (7)
Rahelle (8)
Rishabh (6.5)
Rohan (11)
Shruti (11)

Nayantara Subramaniam (6)
Yana (5)

I cannot really manage more than approximately 20 kids, so do let me know asap. If you know any 10/11 year olds would love some older boys especially - for the various roles!

Take care,

Shaan

A to Zee this week: Schedule changes + Question!

Hello,

This week:

Harry Potter rehearsal and recording: Tuesday Nov 22nd (Tara, Tarush, Adam, Kyra (Guddi's), Sadhvi, Shruti)

3.30pm till 4.30pm

Cinderella rehearsal and recording: Thursday Nov 24th 3.30pm till 4.30pm

(Zai, Samar, Chahna, Esha, Riyah, Muskan, Kyra, Arav, Sanya, Dhruv, Aalia, Udhav)

Regular class is on Sunday this week. 

Sorry about this - am away at a conference in Ahmedabad over Friday-Saturday - only back Sunday afternoon. 

Class will be from 3pm till 5pm - please do try to send the kids! 

Room on the Broom recording will take place on this day, Cinderella will be rehearsed.

Christmas Carols will be practiced and the dances for the Christmas show.

There is no need for the Harry Potter adult actors to come in on Sunday...we will meet again on Tuesday next week if that is ok?

Show date: Sunday December 11th confirmed 10.30am show  - most likely at Freemasons Hall. 

Should end by 12noon

Question: We have also been invited to perform for Abacus school on Dec 16th from 1.30pm to 2.30pm in Perungudi. How many of you would be able to do this? Based on this we will either go ahead or not...

Do let me know.

Take care,

Shaan

Upcoming Christmas show - Sunday December 11th morning

Sunday December 11th at 10.30am!

This is our big annual show. Our A to Zee Creativity kids aged between 4 and 11 years will enact three short plays - Room on the Broom, Cinderella, and an extract from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Some of the children have been on stage before - others are new, and this is an opportunity for them to gain confidence and to have fun. Hopefully the audience will enjoy what we have planned for you! :)

Some experienced adult actors will join them in guest roles as part of the Harry Potter play. This is to inspire the little ones.

All donations you make go straight to our chosen charity the very same evening. This term it is Asthtva Foundation who run programmes to empower women and educate children. http://www.asthtva.com

60s show + request for photos/videos...

Hello all,

Hats off to the children for a fab 60s show this morning. We missed the three who were unwell and out of town. But, the best is yet to come...Christmas show coming up on December 11th morning! :) Harry Potter, Room on the Broom, and Cinderella!

Those who took photos and videos, please can you email them to me or give me a cd? I would like to be able to share these. I was so distracted I did not take a single photo!

Take care,

Shaan x

Sixties term - small show for parents/grandparents only - space limitation

Hello,

We had a successful recording of the six numbers the children will be singing. Manikandan and Prarthana very kindly brought in some serious recording equipment, and the children sang beautifully. We will give you all a CD of this for the children to keep and hopefully listen to whenever.

The children will be singing the songs in the following order:

Yellow Submarine
Obladi-Oblada
The Boxer
Confidence
Man Gave Names to all the animals
Let it be

They may or may not perform When I'm 64 and Paperback Writer.

Saturday class will be from 2pm till 4.30pm.
Sunday 13 November - show day - same place - 10am.

Children to wear: Jeans or loose trousers, short kurtas, or brightly coloured tie-dye type stuff - funky Sixties
style. Long hair with centre partings, bandanas, beads, etc.!

The show will consist of poems, songs, and dances done this term, and will last about an hour - if that. 10.30am to 11.30am. We will then have some cake and coffee/juice for everyone.

I do know that one child will not be there and am sorry to hear it - anyone else?

For our Christmas show (the plays) on December 4th am hoping all the children will be there?

Take care,

Shaan

October 8th 2011 recap + some of the Cinderella cast: 2pm on the 15th!

A to Zee Creativity: Winter Term (Mid-September to Mid-December 2011)

Saturday 8^th  October 2011 (2.30pm – 4.30pm)

2.30pm – 2.45pm: Circle time

Oms, voice exercises, stretches

Attendance was taken by one of the older children.

2.45pm - 3.30pm: Singing with Sharanya

Moves have been decided for the following songs:

In the Beginning (Bob Dylan)

Confidence (Elvis)

The Under-7s listened to the following songs all learnt this term (whilst colouring):

Twist and Shout (The Beatles)

Let It Be (The Beatles)

The Boxer (Simon & Garfunkel)

Yellow Submarine (The Beatles)

Oh-Bla-Di- Oh-bla-da (The Beatles)

3.30 – 3.50pm: Photography with Shaan

We built upon perspective – learnt at the last lesson. We focussed on learning how to do the following:

-       Holding the camera steady, focussing.

-       How to keep it straight so as not to get a weird angle

-       Different types of backgrounds and their effects – busy backgrounds v solid coloured backgrounds

We used the diyas they had painted last class, they created patterns with these on different backgrounds, and they photographed these.

I noticed quite a few children were having to share my camera. These days you get fairly reasonably priced digital cameras – or if you have an old one – do send it with your child in a case. We will be doing photography every other week this term.

3.50– 4.10pm: Rehearsal of Room on the Broom - with Shaan

4.10 – 4.30pm: Rehearsal of Cinderella Scene 1 - with Shaan

4.20pm: Snack for all – Banana chips + Murukus (both from Nuts n Spices – no homemade this week…L)

4.30pm: End of class

PLEASE NOTE: THE FOLLOWING FROM THE CINDERELLA CAST ARE NEEDED AT 2PM ON 15^TH OCTOBER FOR AN EARLY REHEARSAL OF THE FIRST 3 SCENES PRE-CLASS! THAT IS, CINDERELLA, STEPMOTHER, STEPSISTERS, FATHER, GODMOTHER, CAT, RAT.

Recap of Saturday 1st October 2011

Hello,
Just a quick recap of what the children did on Saturday. For those who were absent I have kept a diya for them to paint next week, since they will be using it for their photography session.
Look forward to seeing them at 2.30pm on Saturday.
Take care,
Shaan

A to Zee Creativity: Winter Term (mid Sep - mid Dec 2011)

Saturday 1^st October 2011 

2.30pm – 3.15pm: Singing with Sharanya

New songs taught:

In the Beginning (Bob Dylan)

Confidence (Elvis)

Sang new songs from last week (24^th September):

TWIST AND SHOUT (The Beatles)

Let It Be (The Beatles)

The Boxer (Simon & Garfunkel)

Sang songs from the week before (17^th September):

Yellow Submarine

Oh-Bla-Di- Oh-bla-da

Revision of a few of the following - last term’s songs and needed for Cinderella play:

Puff the Magic Dragon, A Whole New World , Bibbety Bobbity Boo , Can you feel the love tonight , Once upon a dream, Supercalifragilistic. Somewhere over the rainbow, Que sera sera

3.15 – 3.40pm: Art and Craft with Shaan

The children painted a diya each, then added glittery paper. After these had dried we added a coat of varnish. We will be using these diyas next week during our photography session for children aged 7 and over.

3.40– 4.20pm: Dancing with Manikandan /Prarthana

Learnt more of the Mashed Potato dance - mashed potato dance steps.

Repeated Twist and Shout - using the twist dance – dance to Twist & Shout

Waka Waka - once

Tarzan song – once

4pm: Cinderella rehearsal with Shaan – just the children involved in Scene 3 of Cinderella – a few key members of the cast were absent so could not rehearse the other scenes. Rest of the children were dancing.

4.20pm: Snack for all – homemade chocolate shortbread biscuits (hearts, flowers, and stars!) + Murukus

4.30pm: Home