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Once Upon A Time: Twelve Dancing Princesses

Once Upon A Time: Twelve Dancing Princesses
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Key Info
  • Once Upon A Time: Twelve Dancing Princesses
  • Duration: 08:28
  • The classic fairytale of 'Twelve Dancing Princesses' is told using interpretive dance. Twelve Princesses line up in their dormitory to be inspected by their father at bedtime. He conducts them into their beds and says goodnight. As soon as he’s left the room the Princesses silver slippers start to twitch. The Princesses get up and put them on and leave through a magic wardrobe only to return just before dawn their shoes scuffed and soiled. When the King comes to wake them he’s bemused by their ruined shoes and sets a Prince the task of watching them. The Princesses are clever and trick the Prince into drinking sleeping powder in a glass of milk, so they slip out in the night again. The next night the King leaves a soldier to watch over them – he only pretends to drink the milk and follows them out through the wardrobe. He sees that they go to a magic grotto to dance all through the night. When he tells the King what he’s seen the Princesses think their dancing days are numbered, but then the King returns in dancing shoes and wants to go with them!
  • Subject:

    Literacy

       Topic:

    Stories: Traditional and Fairy Stories

  • Keywords: princess, king, dance, movement, bed, castle, shoes, sleep, trick, moon, night, strict, tale, story, secret, beds, skip, party, fun, rules, OnceUponATime, fairy tales, 12
Ideas for use in class
  • Use in conjunction with traditional text. Writing from imagination, 'Where I would go at night'. Write dialogue for characters. Use story to create dance sequences. Use the theme of twelve for counting and number work.
Background details
  • Clip language : English
  • Aspect ratio : 16x9
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  • Location of Flash Video clip:

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