Rhythm Kids was contacted by Camp Gan Israel to visit their camp for one week and host a variety of drumming activities for their nearly 150 campers. The goal was to give students the opportunity to experience a wide spectrum of drums, percussion, cultural music and craftsmanship. Together we decided to explore: African Drumming, Dance & Creative Movement, Instrument-Making and Stomp Percussion--we have the staff with the expertise, and the experience, to make this a memorable experience for the campers.
Kick-Off Assembly: We started things off by getting the whole group together and presented a drum circle where everyone got the opportunity to participate. Everyone had a blast and were very excited to find out that they were going to be learning how to do all the things we just did, plus more!
African Drumming: Led by Chris, campers visited daily and learned traditional patterns utilizing the Rhythm Kids method of rhythm immersion. Campers were taught rhythm patterns from Guinea, Ghana and Igbo and had a blast playing and layering rhythms. At the end of each class they played fun, active games that incorporated the drumming patterns they learned that day--fun!
Dance/Creative Movement: Boston's best were our special guests for dance and creative movement. Fatou Carol Sylia and Alice Heller took the children on a wild ride that blended traditional African dance with a whole lot of fun, creativity and silliness (gotta have some of that too!). Children learned steps from Fanga (Liberia) and from Kuku (Guinea) and did a myriad of activities individually, with a partner and/or as a group. Drummer and dancers work together so Zach and Tom played drums while the children were moving and dancing (but mostly Zach--Tom was running point guard for everyone).
Instrument-Making: Martin Isaac is not just a Rhythm Kids instructor, he is also the owner of Drum Vibe, LLC the makers of a steel tongue drum. He decided to have the children make drums. Every camper made their very own drum that they designed and created to take home. This was a busy activity and required two, hour long sessions to complete, but the kids did a great job and now have a fun instrument to play at home or take to a class (c'mon we gotta plug Rhythm Kids classes!).
Stomp Percussion: One of the most popular sessions at the camp was Stomp Drumming with Dan. All of the children got to experience a new way of taking rhythms and putting them on everyday items like buckets, trash cans, barrels, hubcaps, break-drums, pots, pans and a lot more. They also got the chance to create their own grooves and jam together. When Dan is not at Rhythm Kids he offers private lessons to students and even runs a few Stomp-Style classes for Middle School kids.
Final Showcases: At the end of our week long visit, the Rhythm Kids staff demonstrated African Drumming & Dance and Stomp improvisation--yeah, we rocked! Then each group got up to demonstrate what they had done for their peers and counselors--it was the perfect end to a perfect week!
Can we do this for your camp? No problem! Contact us today (888) 569-0712
