African Percussion and Dance for Little Ones: Assembly & Residency

Assembly & Residency Programs with the Doc Gibbs Ensemble

Doc Gibbs and his colleague, noted African dancer Dorothy Wilkie Gordon, emphasize movement, strong rhythms and call-response patterns, all of which even the youngest students can grasp with repetition. Doc and Dorothy co-teach the sequence of workshops, teaching the children to use a variety of drums from Africa. Children learn how the drums can be used to communicate different emotions and meanings. In addition, they learn traditional African dances and native folk songs. Having worked with staff from Ken-Crest Services, Elwyn, Inc. and the Academy of Community Music, Doc’s follow-up curriculum is a rich one that involves creating artwork related to Africa including animals, paper dolls, drums, and paintings or even models of African villages.

Doc’s and Dorothy’s connection with students is truly a marvel to behold. They both give to the students with an unstinting generosity and enthusiasm. Their emphasis on developing the students’ listening skills means that children are asked to build up to following fairly complex instructions, as in call-response songs, where Dorothy uses this as a clever format for having the children recite the alphabet or numbers in a responsive chorus.

The two lead teaching artists are joined by the rest of the Doc Gibbs Ensemble for both the introductory and final assemblies. As with all of our preschool programs, children with motor and other delays are carefully integrated into the activities, with the help of the onsite staff. For example, in a final concert, a child in a wheelchair can clap and dance in his seat while children in braces can dance with help from teachers. Typically, parents are invited to attend this and any other preschool final concert. We have found that the children retain an astonishing amount of material, and perform their dances, rhythms and songs with great pride.

Like the other residency programs, this one can be presented as a single assembly, to introduce preschool children to the basics of African Dance and Drumming.

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