Drama

Puppet shows have been performed since ancient times- the remainsof puppets have been found in the tombs of Ancient India, Egypt and greece. Puppets were oftenused to act out legends or religious stories. Different types of puppets are operated in different ways.

Japanese Theater is well known for two main kinds of drama- Noh and kabuki. Noh is a serious dance- drama, performed on a traditional stage without much scenery. It began in the 1300s and was first acted by priests from Buddist temples. Today it is performed by ordinary actors. Kabuki began in the early 1600s. It is much livelier than Noh, with songs,dance , funny scenes, energetic fights and splendid scenery.

Elizabethen Theater, in 1976, during the reign of Queen Elizebeth 1, a huge wooden theater wa built in London, England. It was built as a circle so that people could sit most of the way around the stage. The theater was succesful that others like it were built nearby. One of these theaters, called the Globe, put on the plays of the great English playwright Willam Shakespeare. He wore 37plays about everything from murder and war, to love and journey.

Indoor stages is the first permanent indoor theaters were built in Italy in the late 1500s. For the first time, complicated scenery could be used and changed between secenes. Early indoor theaters had a frame around the stage. The frame made a scenery look as if it was a picture frame. There are still picture- frame today, but new theater often have stages that can be changed to suit each play.

Dance

People have always danced. In ancient times people danced and sang to praise their gods or to celebrate big events such as a successfull hunt or harvest. Dance is still an important part of many cultures, but today people all over the wortld enjoy dancing just for fun. Some dances have special steps, which need to be learned. Others, such as disco, let the dancers move freely.

Dancing and and acting are often closely linked and many dances tell stories. For example, in Indiaa some dances tell ancient srories from hindu faith. Group dances that tell a dramatic story are called dance- dramas. Dances act out the story to singing and mime. Mime is a type of acting that uses facial expression and body movement.

Kathakali is a spectacular dance- drama from southern India. It dates back to the 1500s and is still popular today. During the plays, singers tell stories from hindu legends while dancers act them out using their special dance language. Kathakali plays are traditionally shown at night in a temple courtyard, and all the parts are played by men.

Ballet is a mixture of graceful dancing, beautiful music, custumes,mime and scenery. Ballet began more than 400 years ago in europe. At first it included singing and speech as well as dance and the performance wore high heels. Then about 200 years ago,dancers began to wear the soft, flat toe shoes they use today.

Ballroom dancing is usually performed by couples with the man and women holding each other as they move to the music. Dances can be energetic with fast steps, or slow with graceful steps. Nearly all of the ballroom dances seen today were developed during the 1800s and 1900s. At first they danced at parties and public gathering. Now they are also danced un competitions.

Africa

The world's hottest continent, Africa has rainforests and tree- scattered grassland (known as savanna), which are inhabited by a huge variety of wild animals. A third of Africa is covered by the sahara, the largest desert on Earth.

Much of Africa is made up of plateaux, flat areas of land high above sea level. The plateaux in East Africa is broken up by two extinct volcanoes like mount kenya and tanzania's mount kilimanjro and the great rift valley. The rift is a long crack in the earth's crust that runs from mozambique, through East Africa,the red sea and into southwestern Asia.

Africa lies into across the Equator, most of the comtinent gets extremely hot that is why africa is hot and dry. The world's highest temperature in the shade was recorded in Libya in 1932 at 58c. The land around the tropics, each side of the Equator, is starved of rain and more than half Africa' land has less than 500mm of rain per year.

In some regions, particularly around the Equato in West and central Africa, rainfall is high and large rainforests grow. Monrovia, the capital of liberia, has an average of 5,140 mm of rain per year. Between the rainforest and the deserts are immerse areas of tropical savanna. Savanna is prone to drought, with a mixture of rainy and dry season.