Can you hear the click, click, click of the castanets? ¡Ole!
In February, dancers with the Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana Dance Company, one of America’s premier flamenco companies with home bases in New York and Durham, strutted their way through performances and workshops with fifth and sixth graders at Bennett School and fifth graders at Siler City Elementary. The visiting ensemble consisted of two dancers originally from Puerto Rico and Spain, a singer/dancer from Argentina, and a guitarist from the US.
The artists, each fluent in English and Spanish, brought flair and energy to the schools’ stages, delivering a riveting show filled with singing, stomping, and storytelling to the welcoming trill of Spanish guitar. Flamenco Vivo’s skilled performers introduced their student audiences to the elements of flamenco–castañuelas (castanets), cante (singing), baile (dancing), guitarra (guitar), and palmas (claps)–while telling the story (in both Spanish and English) of Sol, a girl who sought the secrets of flamenco journeying through the varying terrain of Spain.
Students were encouraged to participate during the performance, initially joining in from their seats and calling out an encouraging “¡ole!” when a dancer struck a final pose. Toward the end of the performance, several courageous students joined the dancers on stage and learned some quick flamenco moves, stomping and clapping for their smiling peers in the audience.
Following the opening performance day, all four Flamenco Vivo performers returned to each school for two days of classroom workshops. They led students in a dance workshop, including instruction in history, Spanish language, and how to strike those confident flamenco moves.
Before each workshop, students warmed up with stretching exercises, and reviewed with the professionals the various elements of flamenco. After the warm-up, students began learning a complete dance sequence. Listening to choreography instructions presented largely in Spanish, students worked together beautifully, requiring only minimal translation since the dance spoke for itself.
The artists spotted an extra spark in several students and surprised them with an extra challenge.
“When two students were assigned as group leaders to review the choreography, they achieved the task with exceptional leadership,” remarked teaching artist Glenda Koeraus. “They all helped each other.”
The students’ joy was evident in their wide smiles, and the student group captains went about their tasks seriously, ensuring their groups followed the prescribed choreography with precision.
When their peers were nailing dance moves, fellow students exclaimed “¡ole!” left and right, offering their classmates encouragement and support.
“I really liked the movement of the hands,” exclaimed one fifth grader at Siler City. “It felt like you were flying!”
And a Bennett sixth-grader added, “It felt good to be myself in school.”
“I have a student that is a newcomer to our school, as well as to our country,” said Bennett School Principal Carla Neal. “She found great comfort in being able to communicate with instructors in her native language and showed such enthusiasm in her willingness to participate. It was beautiful.”
When the Bennett workshop was finished, students shook hands with the performers and thanked them profusely for visiting. And at the end of the Siler City workshops, kids flocked to the musicians to ask for their autographs.
“So many of my students saw themselves in the performers,” said Tracy Harvell, who teaches music at Siler City Elementary. “When I was able to visit the classroom portion of their visit, I saw students enraptured by these four folks. Students who were normally shy were participating and having a great time.”
“I liked the part where we got together and made a dance,” confessed a Bennett sixth grader. “I really enjoyed it, and I wish we could have had more time!”
The Bennett School residency was powered by Miki Adams. The Siler City Elementary residency was powered by Carolina Meadows.
Arts for Resilient Kids programming is made possible by partnerships with Chatham County Schools, Chatham County, the North CarolinaArts Council, and many individual, foundation, business donors.
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