Abdou can work in a gym or large room with space for energetic movement. The students will come to him for an hour.
September, October, November, December, January, April, May
$10
60
no
Phone , Email
Music and drums. Study Guide provided electronically.
Large space for energetic movement. Electrical outlet. Copies of Study Guide.
Access to the space prior to the workshop. Ideally 30 minutes ahead of first workshop start. We can be flexible.
I can dance a West African djembe dance. I can dance a West African sabaar dance. I can tell the difference between djembe and a sabaar drums. I can communicate with people from different cultures.
West African Dance and Culture is a two visit high-energy residency that will bring Senegal's culture and dances to life for your students and faculty.
Abdou Sarr, Senegalese dancer, is a master teacher of the sabaar and djembe dances from Senegal, West Africa. He brings his experience from many years of professional dancing, his private lessons and his classroom workshops with students of all ages and abilities. Great for all ages and abilities. No prior experience required.
For those classes studying West Africa, the students may submit any questions in advance about topics or Senegalese culture that they or you are curious about.
We provide a Study guide with a Wolof vocabulary of greetings and simple questions that will enable the students to count to ten and greet each other and ask questions, like: What is your name? Also included are links to trusted websites for maps and more information about Senegal, West Africa.
On Day One: Abdou will greet the class, and introduce himself, the drums and some simple Wolof Language. Abdou will explain the importance of dance in his homeland, Senegal. The students will begin to learn the sabaar and/or djembe dances. Interspersed with the dance lessons is a cultural exchange with Abdou talking about his childhood, education and culture. Islam religion may also be discussed. Abdou may also teach some children's songs.
On Day Two: Abdou and the students will continue to refine and elaborate the dance steps and continue their cultural discussions. The students will perform as a group and then demonstrate their dance moves individually.
Grades 6-7: Your students have the opportunity to visit with a young, native Senegalese dancer, who has very good English. They can ask questions about daily life, schools, food, celebrations and clothing. Abdou is a tailor as well as a dancer.
We would welcome a couple of parents/guardians to assist during learning the dance and drumming if you have drummers at home or in the community. Please call us about this.
Grade 1
Grade 1: GEOGRAPHY: Geographic Representations: Spatial Views of the World: 1.3 Use maps, globes, and other simple geographic models to identify cultural and environmental characteristics of places.
Grade 1: GEOGRAPHY: Human-Environment Interaction: Places, Regions and Cultures: 1.4 Explain how weather, climate, and other environmental characteristics affect people's lives in places or regions.
Grade 1: DANCE: CREATING: Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
a. Explore movement inspired by a variety of stimuli (for example, music/sound, text, objects, images, symbols, observed dance, experiences) and identify the source.
Grade 1: DANCE: CONNECTING: Anchor Standard 11: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural and historical context to deepen understanding.
a. Watch and/or perform a dance from a different culture and discuss or demonstrate the types of movement danced.
Grade 2
Grade 2: GEOGRAPHY: Human-Environment Interactions: Places, Regions, and Culture: 2.6 Identify cultural and environmental characteristics of a place/region.
Grade 2: GEOGRAPHY: Human-Environment Interactions: Places, Regions, and Culture: 2.4 Explain how the environment affects people's lives.
Grade 2: DANCE: Creating: Anchor Standard 1: Generate and Conceptualize artistic ideas and work. a. Explore movement inspired by a variety of stimuli (for example, music/sound, text, objects, images, symbols, observed dance, experiences) and suggest additional sources for movement ideas.
Grade 2: DANCE: Creating: Anchor Standard 1: Generate and Conceptualize artistic ideas and work. DA: CR 1.1.2 b. Combine a variety of movements while manipulating the elements of dance.
Grade 3
Grade 3: GEOGRAPHY: Human-Environment Interactions: Places, Regions, and Culture: 3.4 Explain how culture influences the way people modify and adapt to their environments.
Grade 3: GEOGRAPHY: Geographic Representations: Spatial Views of the World: 3.2 Use maps, satellite images, photographs, and other representations to explain relationships between the location of places and regions and their environmental characteristics.
Grade 3: DANCE: CREATING: Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
a. Experiment with a variety of self-identified stimuli (for example, music/sound, text, objects, images, notation, observed dance, experiences) for movement.
Grade 3: DANCE: CONNECTING: Anchor Standard 11: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural and historical context to deepen understanding.
a. Find a relationship between movement in a dance from a culture, society or community and the culture from which the dance is derived. Explain what the movements communicate about key aspects of the culture, society or community.
Grade 6
Grades 6: GEOGRAPHY: Human-Environment Interactions: Places, Regions, and Culture: 6-7.4: Analyze the cultural and environmental characteristics that make places both similar to and different from one another.
Grades 6: GEOGRAPHY: Human-Environment Interactions: Places, Regions, and Culture: 6-7.3 Explain how cultural patterns and economic decisions influence environments and the daily lives of people.
Grade 6: DANCE: CREATING: Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
a. Relate similar or contrasting ideas to develop choreography using a variety of stimuli (for example, music, observed dance, literary forms, notation, natural phenomena, persona experience/recall, current news or social events).
Grade 6: DANCE: CONNECTING: Anchor Standard 11: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural and historical context to deepen understanding.
a. Interpret and show how the movement and qualities of a dance communicate its cultural, historical and/or community purpose or meaning.
Grade 7
Grades 7: GEOGRAPHY: Human-Environment Interactions: Places, Regions, and Culture: 6-7.4 Analyze the cultural and environmental characteristics that make places both similar to and different from one another.
Grades 7: GEOGRAPHY: Human-Environment Interactions: Places, Regions, and Culture: 6-7.3 Explain how cultural patterns and economic decisions influence environments and the daily lives of people.
Grade 7: DANCE: CREATING: Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
a. Compare a variety of stimuli (for example, music, observed dance, literary forms, notation, natural phenomena, personal experience/recall, current news or social events) and make selections to expand movement vocabulary and artistic expression.
Grade 7: DANCE: CONNECTING: Anchor Standard 11: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural and historical context to deepen understanding.
a. Compare, contrast and discuss dances performed by people in various localities or communities. Formulate possible reasons why similarities and differences developed in relation to the ideas and perspectives important to each social group.
