4 Square (TV series)
| 4 Square | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Dominique Jolin |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Production | |
| Running time |
5 minutes (ungrouped episodes) 30 minutes (grouped episodes) |
| Release | |
| Original network | Treehouse TV |
| Picture format | 4:3 full screen |
| Original release | 16 September 1996 – 6 September 2015 |
4 Square is a Canadian children's television series. The show consists of 4 different segments. Each segment has its own coloured backdrop, with the actors wearing the contrasting colour. The show was often divided up and only one segment is aired as filler (between two longer running shows).
Format
Rhythm Segment "Blue Square"
The rhythm segment is hosted by the Beat Team (Ingrid Gaynor, Stephanie Hyppolite, Roney Lewis, and Emma Schellenberg), a group of four young people wearing bright orange sweatshirt and sweatpants. One by one, they all introduce a verbal rhythm with certain sounds or words (for example, "zip-zip-zip-zip-zip-zip-zip-zip"), and then they combine their individual rhythms to make one intricate rhythm.
Poetry Segment "Green Square"
The poetry segment features a woman (Helen Farmer, or in later episodes, Pay Chen) dressed in mainly purple, and a child, also dressed in purple. She recites a poem while giving certain words a hand sign, teaching it to the younger child, the child says the poem back with the learned hand signs, and then they both say it together with a chorus of kids, encouraging the child to say the poem with them. This is the only Four Square segment to feature live children in the scene.
Movement Segment "Orange Square"
The movement segment features four people from the Toronto dance troupe Corpus, dressed in blue spandex outfits with green shoes, knee pads and elbow pads with the females wearing a pleated skirt. A leader known as Captain Hup or Captain Huppette will direct the other three members to do three certain movements (for example, "Bianca, cross-country ski; Metito, cross-country ski; Rufus, cross-country ski"). Finally, after repeating the movement one by one and asking the viewer to try to do it, everyone does them in unison. The original cast featured David Danzon as Captain Hup, Sylvie Bouchard as Bianca; Ray Hogg as Krankovich; and Anand Rajaram as Ludsu. Subsequent casts featured Rachel Harrison as Captain Huppette, Michelle Black as Pippa, Michael Caldwell as Rufus, and Rob Rementilla as Metito.
Song Segment "Purple Square"
This is the part where a group of four people called the 4 Tones sing with four puppets called the Do-Whas. The Do-Whas represent the part of the song where the viewer can sing along. This is encouraged by the phrase "Do what the Do-Whas do" to which the Do-Whas say "Do what we do". Some members of the 4 Tones include Starr Domingue, Kellylee Evans, Alison Neale, and Chantelle Wilson.