Whether your school is hosting its own parade, or you are taking part in the on-site event at the Adelaide Festival Centre on May 7th, we have a party bag of free resources to help your students have the best birthday celebration ever!
Make the most of your DreamBIG Birthday Parade experience and check out the resources below created by some of our friends from the Department of Education, Australian Dance Theatre and Heathfield Renegades.
You are welcome to engage in some, or all the resources. It’s up to you! If you are joining us at the on-site event, we request that you ‘Learn the baseline moves’ and listen to the ‘Half Buck Shuffle soundtrack’ as a minimum.
Jump to:
- DreamBIG Parade Planner
- Half Buck Shuffle - Parade Drumline
- Let’s Get Moving – Parade Baseline Dance Moves
- How to use the videos in the classroom
- Make Your Own Party Hat and Shaker
- Pixilation Parade
- Make Your Own Collaborative Bunting
- Getting to Adelaide Festival Centre
- Teacher Resources
- Win $500 for your preschool or school!
DreamBIG Parade Planner
The Department for Education has created some valuable resources to help you get started. It includes a suggested checklist and timeline, as well as key information about how to run your own parade.
Follow the link to the ‘Teaching and Learning Companion’ to learn ‘How to run your own parade’ (page 4) and to access the ‘DreamBIG parade planner’ (page 5).
Half Buck Shuffle – Parade Drumline
To set the pace of the parade and get your students marching, the Heathfield Renegades have created a funky drumline called ‘Half Buck Shuffle’. If you are participating in the on-site parade at the Adelaide Festival Centre on May 7th the Heathfield Renegades will be there to set the beat for participating students.
If you are hosting your own parade or would like to learn more about ‘Half Buck Shuffle’, check out the resources below.
Read the composer’s statement from Max Tulysewski to find out the inspiration behind ‘Half Buck Shuffle’.
Listen to the ‘Half Buck Shuffle Soundtrack’ here. You can use this soundtrack as the backing track for your own parade, or to help your students practice their dance moves for the big day.
Are you a music teacher, or someone who loves to read music? Here is the full score for the ‘Half Buck Shuffle’ to help your students follow the beat.
Hosting your own parade? Use these videos to run a workshop with your students to teach them how to create their own funky drumline. Max Tulysewski, from the Heathfield Renegades offers a step-by-step lesson and some handy hints to help you with your workshop.
Let’s Get Moving – Parade Baseline Dance Moves
DreamBIG has worked with Australian Dance Theatre to create three instructional videos that teachers can use with students in the classroom to come up with their own unique choreography for your parade.
How to use the videos in the classroom
We encourage you to watch the videos before introducing them to your students, but they are designed to be played in class in front of students. You may need to pause and rewind parts of the videos as you go.
- If you are participating in the on-site parade at the Adelaide Festival Centre, we encourage your students to at least ‘Learn the baseline moves’ shown in Video 1.
- Video 2 demonstrates how to ‘Create your own choreography’. We encourage you as a class to come up with four movements unique to your class (or school), and then to bring the baseline moves and your four unique moves together to create a sequence of eight moves.
- Video 3 discusses how ‘Playing with dynamics’ such as rhythm, repetition and speed can change your eight-move sequence. As a class, we encourage you to use these tools to make the most fun version of your eight-move sequence.
Whether you decide to use only video 1, video 1 and 2, or all three resources, make sure to practice your choreography to either the 'Half Buck Shuffle Soundtrack' above or (if you are creating your own drumline for your in-school parade) with your student drumline.
We can't wait to see your choreography at the parade!
Make Your Own Party Hat and Shaker
It wouldn’t be a birthday without a Party Hat! DreamBIG artists may be visiting your school in March/April to offer an in-school workshop. During the workshop students will make their own party hat and shaker to use during the parade. If we are unable to visit your school, you can use these videos to help guide you.
Pixilation Parade
Can’t attend the DreamBIG Birthday Parade in person? We invite your school to join our ‘Pixilation Parade’! Follow the link to find out how you and your students can create your own stop motion animation to be included in the virtual parade in the Adelaide Festival Theatre Gallery. Submissions must be received by April 10th 2025.
Make Your Own Collaborative Bunting
Help us celebrate DreamBIG's 50th birthday by contributing to our collaborative bunting! Follow the link to download your bunting triangle template and encourage your students to decorate their own. String them up in your classroom or send them to DreamBIG to see them strung up around the festival site.
Getting to Adelaide Festival Centre
Attending the on-site parade at Adelaide Festival Centre? We've collated all the information you might need to make your visit to DreamBIG as smooth and enjoyable as possible.
Teacher Resources
DreamBIG have created a number of other ‘Teacher Resources’ to enhance your festival experience. If you are interested in finding out more check out the link below.
Win $500 for your preschool or school!
Share your parade experience with DreamBIG and you could be in the running to win $500 for your preschool or school! By sharing your unique DreamBIG story, we will learn more about how preschools and schools engage with the festival, helping us to plan for 2027.
We are interested to hear how you, your learners and your site engaged with DreamBIG:
- How did you use this Teaching and Learning Resource (T&LR) and the online Companion?
- What statewide projects did you participate in?
- What did your students learn through their DreamBIG experiences?
- What professional learning did you and your colleagues engage in?
A link to the DreamBIG Participation Story entry form will be available HERE mid-term 2, 2025. You will need to complete the entry form and provide examples of your engagement. Submissions are due Monday 28th July 2025 (week 2, term 3).
All South Australian preschools and schools are invited to submit a DreamBIG Participation Story. Department for Education preschools and schools are eligible for the $500 prize. The winner will be announced via the Arts Ambassadors eNews during term 4, 2025.
Want more information?
For schools attending the on-site parade on May 7th, more information will be sent to you closer to the event. If you have any questions, please get in contact with us.
Thank you for participating in the DreamBIG Birthday Parade. We hope your students and whole school community have fun celebrating with us!