Class Descriptions
West African Drumming
Learn the intense and exciting polyrythmic drum music of west Africa. Class will cover the history, cultural significance and technique of West African instruments including djembe, sangban, kenkeni, dununba, bells, & shekere.
Brazilian Samba
Begun in the Spring of 2005, Unidos Da Filadelfia is the city of Philadelphia’s premier Escola De Samba, in the tradition of samba schools found in Rio DeJaneiro and the blocos afros of Salvador Da Bahia. Founder Mike Stevens,a talented percussionist who has been performing in various groups around Philadephia for several years, started the ensemble to further education about Brazil and it’s rich culture.
West African Dance
African dances vary because of the many cultural differences in musical andmovement styles. These dances must be viewed in close connection with African Music, as many African languages have no word to define music. These dances teach social patterns and values and helps people work, mature, praise or criticize members of the community while celebrating festivals and funerals, competing, reciting history, proverbs and poetry; and to express spirituality.
Storytime Hour
A time for the kids to embrace expression and the growth of the imagination through the interaction of cultures around the world and their stories. Each class will be split up into three sections: expression/sensation exercises, sharing of a folktale, and talk back. Each class will also focus on one particular country accompanied by an instrument and/or traditional rhythm from the native land. My hope for this class is to explore our ancestor’s stories to revitalize thought and embrace imagination acting as a positive learning environment.
Instructor: Brittany Lewis (Blew)
Class time: coming soon
&__ per session
Storytelling Collaborative Workshop
A class for those interested in sharing stories and being the voice of our ancestors folktales. Here we will bring together personal and cultural stories working on ways to perform them and teach our audiences. There will be an emphasis on ensemble work, producing a visual, audible, and emotion driven performance of folktales. You will learn different skills such as acting, maskmaking, and puppetry. I hope at the end of this class we will have a group of storytellers ready to present for schools, prisons, streets, and other programs.
Instructor: Brittany Lewis (Blew)
Class time: coming soon
&__ per session