Classroom Connections 2008/09 CALENDAR
The Crayon Court – for Grades 1 and 2
School visits November 1 through December 16, 2008
Performance at the Carpenter Center November 25, 2008
The Crayon Court is an interactive, multi-media musical and puppet extravaganza where young students explore the worlds of art, color and music featuring crayons, the first items children pick up to use artistically. The company brings colorful characters to life in human-size form for a three-dimensional story set in a whimsical kingdom where the combination of art, color and music become the educational tools of the theme. Using different types of puppetry and theatrical effects, master puppeteer Thom Fountain and his company portray these characters and basic art concepts in living, singing pictures.
Brandon Peace Albright – for Grades 5, 6 and 7
School visits February 2 through March 16, 2009
Performance at the Carpenter Center on February 23, 2009
Brandon "Peace" Albright is a hip-hop dancer whose credits include Crew Scanner Boyz, Boys II Men, Will Smith, Ll Cool J, and Rennie Harris PureMovement. His dance company, based in Philadelphia, PA, is a multicultural, mixed-gender troupe whose work focuses on the movement and spirit of hip-hop with a variety of performance disciplines such as ballet, jazz, and tap. The company delivers a positive message of individual expression to worldwide audiences young and old.
"The works of Brandon Albright brought a welcome, raucous humor to the stage with killer dancing," wrote Jennifer Dunning of The New York Times.
Taiko Project – for Grades 3, 4 and 5
School visits May 4 through June 12, 2009
Performance at the Carpenter Center on June 4, 2009
The TAIKOPROJECT is an ensemble of premiere taiko drummers dedicated to promoting and advancing the American art of taiko, preserving taiko as a dynamic element of Japanese American culture and heritage. In classrooms, the TAIKOPROJECT drummers will play several styles/types of taiko songs and explain the different types of drums and instruments used. They will recount the history of taiko in Japan and the U.S., and how taiko has been used in popular culture. They will demonstrate how to write music and songs for taiko (verbal/written notation) and point out what the students should look for in the performance (movements, rhythms, styles, etc).
The performance at the Carpenter Center will reinforce what is discussed in the classrooms and feature the full arrangements of the taiko songs.