An African arts extravaganza arrived at Bennett School this past December. For two days, fifth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students traveled on a journey through Africa by dancing, drumming, storytelling, and print-making alongside Teli Shabu and his team of teaching artists, The Magic of African Rhythm.
On the workshop days, each class rotated through spaces throughout the school that hosted the different art forms, working with a different artist each time.
On the final day, students enjoyed a professional performance by the artist team.
“Most of these children have little to no knowledge of other cultures around our world. This was a phenomenal opportunity for these children to learn about different ways of life,” commented a classroom teacher at Bennett.
Adinkra Stamp Print-Making Art
In the art room, students learned about adinkra, block printing with stamps.
Each stamp symbol represented different themes in African culture like love and connection.
Students browsed a directory of symbols and meanings, choosing which were most important to them. They practiced stamping on paper before moving to stamp on cloth.
Students worked together to create an adinkra cloth full of their chosen symbols.
“Everyone is going to put their energy into this piece, and this school can keep it forever,” explained Teli.
“What I found surprising was when we did the stamps. I didn’t realize there were so many meanings,” one student expressed.
African Dance
In the multi-purpose room, the students worked with Brother Yah-i. “We’re not gonna dance, we’re gonna move!” he announced.
“I loved everything, but my favorite was the dance class,” shared one student.
Students learned traditional African dance moves and had an entire dance sequence down by the end of only one hour!
They ended the session with a free-dance circle.
African Storytelling with Recyclable Objects
In the library, students worked with Sister Aya to learn about West African folktales and the importance of oral storytelling.
Students were asked to bring in recycled items to use as musical aids in the learning and telling of these stories.
First, students shared familiar American folktales in a round-robin style.
“I liked the storytelling the best because it allowed me to make up a story with my friends and share it with laughter,” a seventh-grader said.
Then, students then used the recycled objects to create a musical, rhythmic telling of stories.
“I liked how we learned new things, like that trash can turn into music,” one student shared.
African Drumming
In the music room, students worked with Brother Teli once again to learn how about the history and structure of African drums, and, of course, to play them!
Students explored the instruments—drums, bells, and sticks. And then they got to have some hands-on time making music.
Performance of “Griot’s Gourd”
On their last day at Bennett, the artists of The Magic of African Rhythm performed for all the third- through eighth-graders.
During the performance, the audience learned about the instruments on stage as the artists played them.
“All these instruments have different voices, and just like you they need to be heard,” one artist announced from the stage.
At the end, students from the workshops got up to perform for their school, showing off the African dance moves they learned in the workshops.
As a group, Bennett School embraced this magical artist group–and as individuals, they found new ways to show up in the world. That includes one student whose principal noticed, “typically refrains from participating in school activities. Through these activities, he explored African cultures and discovered new ways to express his feelings. I believe this experience will boost his confidence and encourage him to join in on more activities at school.”
The residency at Bennett School was sponsored by Miki Adams. Visual, performing, and literary arts are essential to brain development: focus, curiosity, and self-esteem. Creating, looking, reading, and watching art in many forms has been fundamental to all parts of Miki Adams’ life. She wants that for everyone, starting at Bennett!
This residency is part of the Chatham Arts Council’s Artists-in-Schools Initiative.
Arts for Resilient Kids programming is made possible by partnerships with Chatham County Schools, Chatham County, the North Carolina Arts Council, and many individual, foundation, and business donors. If you feel inspired to help us educate kids through the arts, click here to donate.
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