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Description:

From superhero blockbusters to Shakespearian plays, musketeers to mythological heroes, and pirates and princesses, great stories on stage and screen have great fight scenes! Picture buccaneers Barbossa and Blackbeard in Pirates of the Caribbean or Rey versus Ren in the Star Wars sagas. Sometimes they use weapons and sometimes just their bare hands. Fight scenes can be thrilling, heart-breaking, or hilarious. This is the art of Stage Combat- creating the illusion of violence for storytelling in entertainment!

Third quarter, students will learn techniques for single-handed sword-fighting used for thrusting blades such as the rapier or epee. They will learn 5 cuts (attacks), 6 parries (deflecting), and basic footwork. Students will practice two 'pris de fer' moves (taking the steel) and how to feign two types of wounds. They will discuss the art of storytelling through stage combat and develop a short, choreographed sword fight.

Aspects of stage combat may look like fencing and martial arts, but are instead a different set of theatrical skills that mimic the contact sports, often in a dramatic and choreographed manner meant to convey conflict on stage or screen. Emphasis in stage combat is on safety, so techniques are learned and rehearsed in slow-motion and at increased distance between partners. Students will work with blunt, wooden dowels instead of bladed training weapons. The instructor will present and frequently review class safety rules. This class is best suited for students who are focused, have self-discipline, can follow instructions, and can work in a group.

Note: This class will not meet on 2/2/23 due to the instructor's own performance schedule. To make up for that absence, the class will meet from 9:40 am- 10:55 am (20 additional minutes) on February 9, 16, and 23 only.

Topics in this Series: Bare Fists and Brawls- Unarmed Combat (Quarter 1); Comedy in Combat (Quarter 2), Swashbuckling, Single-Handed Sword (Quarter 3) Dueling, Double-Handed Broadsword (Quarter 4)