Swarming of the “littlest kids” dressed as the ants, playful choreography and a colorful centipede as a surprise. All of that will be present in another mass composition, “Mravenci” (The Ants), which the audience will have the opportunity to see during this year’s All-Sokol Slet. The frolicking of the children is accompanied by songs of the popular duo Zdeněk Svěrák and Jaroslav Uhlíř as well as compositions by Pavel Novák and Leszek Wronka.
The six-minute long composition is intended for preschool children. Its author Dana Uzlová, the chief of Sokol Lhotka, has been preparing Sokol compositions for children since 1994. Among the ones she has contributed to are Kužílky (The Skittles), Myši (The Mice), Kdo si hraje nezlobí (Those Who Play Don’t Have Time to be Naughty), Člověče nezlob se (The Ludo) and Noty (The Notes). Let’s take a closer look at the composition in our interview with Dana.
The Ants is your sixth composition in a row - where do you get your inspiration from?
In my case the first impulse is music. Always. That’s the key and from there everything goes on fast.
The composition is intended for preschool kids. Is it difficult to work with such young children?
Not at all. I have been working with preschool children for over 40 years, both in Sokol and as part of my profession. That work is a matter of the heart for me. It makes me happy to see that children enjoy their time. And I am quite sure about that: after I was rehearsing with children from another class, whenever they met me, they always asked about the Ants and when they would rehearse again.
Is there a story behind the composition?
Yes, all my choreographies have a story. It is about Ferda the ant (represented by a trainer) who is looking for his friends. He finds them and then they practice, relax and play together. But beware, someone is breaking into the anthill. The ants get scared. Eventually they find out it is their friend, the centipede, and they enjoy their time together.
What can the audience look forward to?
Cheerful choreography and beautiful outfits. The children are dressed up as red ants, wearing a cap with antennae and a pocket on their stomach in which they have hidden a yellow parachute. Ferda the ant has a black outfit and, off course, the red polka-dotted scarf around his neck. The interesting thing about the composition is that it is accompanied with spoken word, which to my delight and at my request dubbed the actor Josef Dvořák.
It is not only the costumes that make the piece engaging, but also the equipment. How do you work with it?
I like to use equipment as it makes, hand in hand with the costumes, the piece more special. In The Ants, every pair of children uses a yellow parachute as a crib, baby duvets and a centipede, which is a long snake-like equipment with handles. The centipede is hidden in a sack that represents an anthill.
What do you think is the most interesting moment of the choreography?
There are many interesting moments. But if I had to single one out, I would choose the scene when the colorful centipede and the yellow parachutes appear - both of these props are hidden at the beginning of the choreography.
Basic information about composition is HERE.
