The Great Race: Chinese Zodiac dance workshop
✓ Nursery - Year 6
✓ Led by a professional West End Dancer
✓ PSHE, World Around Us
✓ Delivered in your school hall
✓ Free teacher resources
Dance workshops for primary schools celebrating Chinese and Lunar New Year
The 2025 Chinese and Lunar New Year begins on 29 January. It will be the year of the Snake!
This fun and creative dance workshop is based on the origin story of the Chinese Zodiac, The Great Race. It is the most popular story told during Chinese and Lunar New Year, and is still explored and enjoyed by children in China today.
During the sessions each class will be led by an expert choreographer as they work together to recreate the characters and story of the Chinese Zodiac.
Featuring original music and movement inspired by traditional and contemporary Chinese culture, your children will develop their cultural understanding as they reinvent the myth behind the ancient story.
Choreography by: Abigail Huan
Music by: Liz Chi Yen Liew
Find out more about our creatives.
- We work with individual classes for sessions of between 35 and 50 minutes.
- We can run up to seven 35 minute sessions per day.
- Online sessions are up to 50 minutes each.
- To work with fewer classes we can visit for just an afternoon or morning session.
- To work with more than seven classes we can visit across multiple days.
- We will send you a suggested timetable when you enquire and will work with you to create a timetable that works for your school day.
- Develop an understanding of one of the most well known stories behind Chinese and Lunar New Year by recreating the narrative from start to finish.
- Gain confidence in physical literacy and explore how physical vocabulary can express emotion.
- Develop creative ownership and the imagination by working alongside a professional dancer-choreographer.
- Improve cultural understanding.
Legend has it that the Jade Emperor invited all the animals to a Great Race, promising that the first 12 animals to cross the river would each have a year named after them. From the quick-witted Rat who was the first to reach the finish line, to the Pig who came in twelfth after stopping mid-race to snack and nap, the animals who completed the race represent the 12 year Zodiac cycle.
Our workshop is inspired by Christopher Carr’s retelling of the story for children, The Great Race.
When you book you will receive a link to a full pack of teacher resources suggesting ways to use dance to explore The Great Race story and Lunar New Year in the classroom. Take a look at a preview of that resource or head to our blog for more ideas for using dance in the classroom.
Can’t find the answer you’re looking for? Try our FAQs page.
Watch us in action!
Get a flavour of the West End in Schools experience with our new workshop highlights video.
