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A CELEBRATION OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA

This dynamic performance follows the journey of a solo artist who learns about the power of collaboration and community. As they prepare for the Festival, the artist begins to feel that “something is missing.” Luckily, they encounter other artists who have the skills and knowledge that are needed to create a truly collaborative and thrilling performance for The Festival. This performance engages the audience with a variety of opportunities for interaction throughout and features professional African American artists from the Pittsburgh region.

Diaspora means the movement or dispersal of people from their homeland to other parts of the world. As people move, they take their culture with them; their stories, songs, dances, art, clothing, and food. Over time, their culture changes in some ways as families grow and people invent new ways of expressing themselves and their ideas and experiences.

The African Diaspora specifically means people who moved or dispersed from Africa to other regions of the world, including America, the UK, Brazil, and Haiti. So much of our culture here in the United States has roots in the African Diaspora, including; music, stories, dance, and visual art.

The Collaboration Festival features professional Artists working in the Pittsburgh region who are a part of the African Diaspora. In the performance, they share their art forms and their backgrounds with each other and you in the audience. This Education Booklet is a chance to dive deeper into the backgrounds of the artists. You’ll learn how they became artists, what kinds of art they practice and teach, and even have chances to create your own art with activities provided throughout!

Thank you for being a part of our Festival! We hope to Collaborate with you again very soon!

The Trust Arts Education Teaching Artists Trustarts.org/Education

Diaspora

Chantal Joseph

How did you become an artist?

My love for music started back when I was a young girl. I used to sing all around the house and in the car any chance I had! I remember when I was in 2nd grade, we had a band demonstration at my school where they showed the students all the different instruments and a big band performed for us. At that moment, I decided that I wanted to be in the school band. A year later I started playing the clarinet and that is what catapulted my passion for music. After years of hard work and dedication, I’ve been able to turn my passion into a career that I love. I get to travel all around the world to sing, perform, and create. My experience ranges from musical theater, studio recording, songwriting, vocal coaching, and more. I love to spread knowledge and help others to explore their creativity, so along with performing regularly, I also love teaching my art to both adults and kids.

What kind of art do you make and teach?

I entertain audiences by singing with my live band and telling stories through song.

What does your art mean to you?

My art is very important to me. I am so grateful that I can bring joy to people through my music. It’s a wonderful feeling to look out into the audience and see people dancing or singing along. It’s an even better feeling when people tell me how much I’ve made their day through my art. I truly find peace in singing and music. I’m able to express myself and tell a story through rhythm, melody, and lyrics. Music is a universal language in which we can all connect with one another and connect with our spiritual selves.

What does “celebrating the African Diaspora” mean to you?

Celebrating the African Diaspora is very important to me because, as a first-generation Haitian American, it makes me feel proud to celebrate where my family/ancestors came from. I grew up in a predominantly white area where I didn’t learn or see a lot about the African Diaspora. I feel that students who get exposure to this knowledge gain more insight into American history, world history, and the origins of so many aspects of art and culture.

Ankle/Bracelet Tambourines Activity

Tambourine anklets are typically worn during African song and dance performances and, in this activity, we will learn how to make one of our very own!

Objective:

Students will recreate a traditional tambourine anklet or bracelet while exploring creative patterns.

Materials:

-Pipe cleaner

-Small jingle bells for crafting

-Beads (Any type of bead will do as long as they can be put through the pipe cleaner). We use small wooden painted beads or plastic craft beads.

-Coconut shell buttons and small cowrie shells for extra decoration if you choose. Any other decorative materials that you might want to weave through the pipe cleaner will work as well.

Instructions:

Assemble your materials to create a pattern of your choice. Example: jingle bell, cowrie shell, bead, jingle bell. One by one, take each piece of material and weave it through your pipe cleaner in your desired pattern. Be as creative as you’d like with your patterns!When all pieces are assembled, secure the pipe cleaner around the ankle or the wrist by twisting the two end pieces tightly together. Fold the two ends over to make it flat for a comfortable fit. Enjoy your work of art!

Randall Coleman

Body Drums & Hand Music

How did you become an artist?

I’m a photographer & videographer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I became interested in photography in 2010 when I was a Senior in High School. My older brother, who was in college at the time, came home with a camera and was taking photos of our cats. As I watched him have so much fun he turned to me and said, “Randall, you should take a photography class when you go to college next year.” A year later, I did just that. Today I love taking photos at events and find it’s a great way to meet new people. As a teaching artist, I teach students photojournalism, still life photography, videography, colorizing, audio recording and more. When teaching, I want to get students excited about learning a new skill and to become confident in their ability to create what they envision. By the end of our time together, students are empowered to pick up a device of their choice and tell a story.

Materials: Body, shaker egg, kazoo

Follow along with a video at www.buzzwordpgh.org/sound

What kind of art do you make and teach?

Let’s do creative movements that make a sound, then we’ll make a beat/rhythm with your body drums and hand music. Feel free to include every member of your household or just two family members! We will use our beats/rhythms to keep time. We’ll use our body drums and hand music beats to make a Body Drum Band! We are learning to keep a steady beat that promotes good math skills and uses both sides of the brain. It is joyful to play music together!

As a multimedia artist, I share various artforms with communities. As a photographer, I love photographing people. Whether that is by way of photojournalism (using images to tell a news story) or portraiture (the art of taking pictures of individual people). I also love colorizing historical black and white African American photographs and bringing new life to them. These colorized photographs are in my virtual gallery. Augmented reality (making pictures interactive using computers) is also an artform I practice and teach. Augmented reality offers an incredible real-world experience for digital photos and videos. Videography (the art of making videos) is another love of mine. I have had amazing experiences creating videos for members of the Greater Pittsburgh area.

Let’s use parts of our body to make sounds:

Step 1: Clap your hands.

Step 2: Stomp your feet.

Step 3: Pop your ngers.

Step 4: Carefully slap your shoulder.

Step 5: Carefully slap your thigh.

Step 6: Carefully cross your arms and slap them together.

Step 7: Rub your hands together lightly.

What does your art mean to you?

My art is an opportunity to express myself and connect with others through my expression. Art gives me the opportunity to be present, art brings me joy, art makes me grateful for each moment of life!

What does “celebrating the African Diaspora” mean to you?

Celebrating the African American Diaspora is celebrating our achievements. Achieving the creation of a vibrant and loving community. Achieving great intellectual and scholastic feats while pushing the boundaries of our expression to areas unseen.

Who Are We?

Dignity Exploration

Activity

Goals of the game:

Buzzword Pittsburgh excites children and families as they experience the words that are all around them. Through talk and play about math, science, and art, young children will expand their vocabularies and conversation skills. The program engages families and community organizations in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood and the greater community.

The purpose of this activity is to encourage students to have respect for themselves and others.

Materials:

Historical African American photographs, Pencil & Paper

The Buzzword Pittsburgh collaborative consists of partner organizations with expertise in the arts and sciences and local family centers. These partners provide interactive learning opportunities that encourage imagination, investigation, creation, and re ection. Buzzword Pittsburgh is supported by PNC Grow Up Great®.

How to play:

Step 1: Ask students what the word dignity means?

Step 2: Explain what it means if no one gives an accurate definition. Oxford Languages Definition: “the state or quality of being worthy of honor or respect.”

Step 3: Ask students to stand up and walk around the room normally. From here you will also ask students to walk with dignity, sadness, excitement, swag & etc.

Step 4: Ask students to return to their seats. Then have a conversation around the activity. Ask students how they felt when walking with dignity or what thoughts they had when walking with excitement. Ask students if they noticed the difference between walking one way versus another.

Community Partners: Partner Organizations:

Step 5: Discuss with the students the power of words. Let them know that even though nothing happened to them, they were able to experience a particular feeling and were able to express it.

Step 6: Students will need a pencil and paper. Ask them to write down three positive affirmations starting with I AM. Examples are below. After they have written these down, they will close their eyes and repeat the affirmations to themselves for one minute. “I AM SMART, I AM ARTISTIC, I AM JOYFUL”

Step 7: Next, show students the historical photographs of African American figures provided. Students can choose their favorite photo and share why they picked it and how it might represent dignity.

See Randall’s work:

Scan the QR code below.

Delana Flowers

Body Drums & Hand Music

How did you become an artist?

Out of boredom, at the age of fourteen, I wrote, directed, and starred in a summer production that friends put together and produced at a local Elementary school. In 1982 I began a theater ministry taking Christian tracks and producing stage plays at church. Years later I was hired as Theatre director at Camp Takajo in Naples Maine, producing a Counselor show, a Student Drama and two Student Musicals. I caught the theater bug early and never looked back as I’ve directed, acted, and taught theater all over Pittsburgh and beyond!

Materials: Body, shaker egg, kazoo

Follow along with a video at www.buzzwordpgh.org/sound

What kind of art do you make and teach?

Let’s use parts of our body to make sounds:

Step 1: Clap your hands.

Singer, writer, actor, and storyteller. How did this all happen? Well, it started when I was a little girl. Imagine a child going all through the house singing songs you know and songs you've never heard before. That was me. Whether it was tunes from church, tunes from kid’s shows and cartoons, or tunes I made up, I had to be making sounds. Church always filled my ears with the most amazing sounds. My family all sang there. My Dad’s family was full of musicians. Before I knew it I was using words and sounds to get my happy and sad feelings out. Then one day I started writing in a journal and over time that turned into poems, songs, articles, greeting cards, and anything else that needed words. Words and sounds are still some of my favorite things! And then I found musical theater. Musical theater puts words and sounds together to show and tell a story in front of people. Wow!

Step 2: Stomp your feet.

Step 3: Pop your ngers.

Step 4: Carefully slap your shoulder.

What does your art mean to you?

Step 5: Carefully slap your thigh.

Step 6: Carefully cross your arms and slap them together.

Step 7: Rub your hands together lightly.

Singing, writing, making, and moving are amazing. It's like taking who we are and turning it into something we can give to others as a gift. Art is magic because art is you. It’s magic we make that helps us see and hear and understand ourselves and each other better. Singing, writing, making, and moving is love for you and for me and for everyone we share it with.

What does “celebrating the African Diaspora” mean to you?

African people and their children's children all over the world have passed down different art forms that are still being done to this day. Learning these art forms and sharing them feels like honoring them and their gifts. As we share these gifts with each other, we keep learning more and more about the people and their gifts and in turn we keep learning more and more about ourselves. We say thank you to them each time we spread how excited we are about these gifts. It’s like we are cheering for them, for you, and for us.

Name Card Activity

Seeing your own name on something builds your self esteem. This activity reminds us to take pride in who we are. This activity helps us acknowledge that we are as unique as what we create and that is to be celebrated.

Materials:

5x7 Photo paper and markers.

Instructions:

Give each child a piece of photo paper On the glossy side, have them write their name in large letters in the center. Put a rectangle around your name. Fill in the white space outside of the rectangle with colors, and/or shapes, and/or patterns of your choosing. Share your name and design with others!

Akin Lowman

Body Drums & Hand Music

How did you become an artist?

My name is Akin and I am a visual artist, musician and Capoeira practitioner who has been studying my crafts since I was a child. Growing up in Pittsburgh, I studied visual art with family, community members and in school. In addition to art I studied various forms of African diasporic music and culture under a number of knowledgeable and accomplished musicians from Pittsburgh and other parts of the world. I also studied Capoeira and other Afro-Brazilian cultural art forms with local teachers as well as masters from Brazil. My journey to art school started in Pittsburgh, PA. As a young child I developed a love for drawing and creating stories. This love for art was furthered at Rogers C.A.P.A. and C.A.P.A. High (Creative And Performing Arts) where I attended school for middle school and junior high as an art major. In 2004 I received my B.F.A. in Animation from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). I also started practicing Capoeira Angola at a young age in a Pittsburgh Capoeira school called the Nego Gato Foundation under Mestre (master) Nego Gato and his local instructor Justin Laing. In addition to Capoeira I studied Maculele, Samba and Afro-Brazilian Orixa music with Nego Gato. In 1999 at age fourteen, I became a teen instructor for the Capoeira after school program at Miller African Centered Elementary School and I have continued to teach Capoeira since then.

Materials: Body, shaker egg, kazoo

Follow along with a video at www.buzzwordpgh.org/sound

Let’s use parts of our body to make sounds:

What kind of art do you make and teach?

Step 1: Clap your hands.

Step 2: Stomp your feet.

Step 3: Pop your ngers.

As a community artist I remain active inside the Pittsburgh community and in surrounding areas. I teach community Capoeira classes at Sankofa Village for the Arts and at other community centers, schools and dance schools such as Hill Dance Academy Theatre (HDAT). I teach art classes to children of various ages. I also teach and perform various forms of African diasporic music/drumming throughout the community.

Step 4: Carefully slap your shoulder.

Step 5: Carefully slap your thigh.

Step 6: Carefully cross your arms and slap them together.

Step 7: Rub your hands together lightly.

What does your art mean to you?

My art is literally my life. I eat, sleep, drink, breathe, think art, music and Capoeira. My arts help me to express myself deeply. They help me communicate with others. And my arts help me to make a living. The things I do are a part of my everyday life, which brings me peace. Most importantly my art gives me a way to give back to the community.

What does “celebrating the African

Diaspora”

mean to you?

Celebrating the African Diaspora looks like sharing and learning culture and knowledge from the various parts of the diaspora such as Haiti, Cuba, Brazil, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Jamaica, the U.S., Puerto Rico and more. It means understanding how we are connected because of our African origins. It sounds like Hip-Hop, Bomba, Samba, Salsa, Afrobeats, Reggae and more!

Who Are We?

Rhythm Section Activity

Objective:

Create a polyrhythm (more than one type of rhythm played at the same time) with multiple parts using multiple people.

Materials:

Your body

Instructions:

Split students up into 3 or more groups (depending on how many people you have). Give one group a rhythm where they stomp their feet and hit their chest. Give the next group a different rhythm where they just clap their hands. Give another group a different rhythm where they clap their hands and hit their thighs. If there are more than 3 groups, continue adding parts. Then start the first group off and tell them not to stop. Do this for each group until they are all playing their parts together.

Community Partners:

Partner Organizations:

Candace Walker

Body Drums & Hand Music

How did you become an artist?

I loved listening to positive inspirational music as a child. I would make up dances to all my favorite songs and perform in the living room with my family at a young age. Church was where I was introduced to Gospel Mime in Wilkinsburg, PA. Gospel mime is an expression of praise using traditional costumes, pantomime techniques, liturgical dance and modern choreography elements to act out the lyrics of inspirational music (with special attention to the face and hands). I took lessons from a solo Gospel Mime artist named Tonja Grate, and have been performing live at churches, schools, parades, festivals, memorials, parties, and street corners ever since. My various acting roles and directing jobs in Pittsburgh theater productions prepared me to teach students how to enjoy expressing themselves in this dynamic way.

Materials: Body, shaker egg, kazoo

Follow along with a video at www.buzzwordpgh.org/sound

What kind of art do you make and teach?

Lyrical Movement is the art of using lyrics to illustrate how we move to music. I teach students to move their bodies to match the mood of the music and highlight the message in the lyrics. The art of pantomime is a universal communication technique which means it crosses language barriers in order to convey a message. Lyrical movement in the form of pantomime and gospel mime has brought emotional healing and entertainment to many audiences for decades worldwide. The instruction of traditional mime techniques and modern movement will help students find inner confidence, write better stories, and activate their imaginations in a physically engaged way.

Let’s use parts of our body to make sounds:

Step 1: Clap your hands.

Step 2: Stomp your feet.

Step 3: Pop your ngers.

Step 4: Carefully slap your shoulder.

Step 5: Carefully slap your thigh.

What does your art mean to you?

Step 6: Carefully cross your arms and slap them together.

Step 7: Rub your hands together lightly.

Lyrical movement through mime gives me a new way to listen to music. I study and listen closely, tuning in to messages in the lyrics. Then, I use my face and my body to invent a theatrical performance with a range of emotional expressions. I can always find a sound or a story to depict real-life struggles and triumphs. All of our favorite songs can be transformed and presented in a whole new way incorporating dance, mime, and acting techniques.

What does “celebrating the African Diaspora” mean to you?

Celebrating the African Diaspora means we are acknowledging our individual roots while sharing our gifts in a place to uplift one another. We honor the country and traditions a person is from, and we use our art to unite and excite one another. In Lyrical Movement we use sounds, songs, and stories from all over the world to relate to diverse audiences.

Who Are We?

Lyrical Movement Activity

Using the lyrics below identify the story of the Songwriter. Look for clues in the lyrics that can be acted out with facial expressions and hand motions

Song 1:

Lyrics: I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor

At first I was afraid, I was petrified Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side But then I spent so many nights thinking how you did me wrong And I grew strong And I learned how to get along

Song 2:

Lyrics: Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are! Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky.

Clues:

You may point in the direction of a star

Clues:

Any words that express feelings Any action words

Community Partners:

Make a face that asks a question Show how high the sky is on tippy toes How will you show us a diamond with your hands?

Talisha Taylor

Body Drums & Hand Music

How did you become an artist?

I became an artist at a very young age. I used to draw on anything that was blank! I would, sometimes, even draw on the walls or the washer and dryer…I don’t recommend this! I’m grateful that my parents didn’t stop my creativity, they just gave me something better to create on!

Materials: Body, shaker egg, kazoo

Follow along with a video at www.buzzwordpgh.org/sound

What kind of art do you make and teach?

I’m a mixed media, visual artist and teach visual arts. Mixed media, visual arts mean art that was created by using more than one medium such as paint, charcoal, metal, paper, and anything else someone can find to give the piece extra “razzle dazzle”!

What does your art mean to you?

Art is important because it is self expression. Without art and individualized creativity everything in the world would look exactly the same…boring.

Let’s use parts of our body to make sounds:

Step 1: Clap your hands.

Step 2: Stomp your feet.

What does “celebrating the African Diaspora” mean to you?

Step 3: Pop your ngers.

Step 4: Carefully slap your shoulder.

Step 5: Carefully slap your thigh.

Celebrating the African diaspora means learning, acknowledging, and appreciating the cultures, teachings, and lifestyles of black and brown people from all over the world.

Step 6: Carefully cross your arms and slap them together.

Step 7: Rub your hands together lightly.

Who Are We?

Tissue Paper

Suncatchers

Materials:

-Clear contact paper

-Colorful Tissue paper

-Cardboard template shape

-Black sharpie marker

-Scissors

-Hole punch

-Cardboard template shape

-Yarn

Instructions:

Step 1: Cut two squares of contact paper to the desired size.

Step 2: Choose a shape. You can draw one freehand, or print out a shape to cut out and use as a template.

Step 3: Use a Sharpie to draw or trace your shape onto the square of contact paper.

Community Partners:

Step 4: Tear the different color tissue into small pieces.

Step 5: Peel the backing of the contact paper and place it sticky side up on the table.

Step 6: Begin sticking the torn up pieces of tissue paper onto the traced shape. Be sure to cover the whole shape and overlap the edges.

Step 7: When you have finished covering the shape with tissue paper, place the other piece of contact paper, sticky side to sticky side, to enclose the tissue between two layers.

Step 8: Cut out your shape. Use the hole punch to punch a hole in the top of your shape. Thread the yarn through the hole and tie a knot at the ends. Hang your creation in a window so it can catch the sunlight.

Diarra Imani

Body Drums & Hand Music

How did you become an artist?

The coolest thing about art is that it chooses you! Whether it's a doodle that takes form on your paper or words that come to your head in the middle of a task - art is always there for you, making your day better. I learned how much I loved art in middle school: I could spend my entire Art block drawing and wondering or humming and writing songs. As I got older and realized what I loved to do - like loved loved loved to do - I chose my art as a career and have been writing, drawing, painting, and performing ever since.

Materials: Body, shaker egg, kazoo

Follow along with a video at www.buzzwordpgh.org/sound

What kind of art do you make and teach?

I am a multi-dimensional artist which means that I use different tools to make and teach art all the time. You don’t have to pick just one if you have many that you are good at! As a maker, I draw and paint to bring out the images that I see in my mind. I use my words and voice to assist other people in feeling what I feel or understanding my perspective. I wrap all of that into a bundle when I teach students so that they can access each art form for their own good and growth!

What does your art mean to you?

Let’s use parts of our body to make sounds:

Step 1: Clap your hands.

Step 2: Stomp your feet.

My art is my breath. It’s how I make it through difficult and challenging times, times when I feel sad or lonely I write or sing loud and spin around and breathe and dance! And even when there are exciting celebrations or reasons to be happy, I sing and paint, write poetry to remember the moment. My art is my everything.

Step 3: Pop your ngers.

Step 4: Carefully slap your shoulder.

Step 5: Carefully slap your thigh.

What does “celebrating the African Diaspora” mean to you?

Step 6: Carefully cross your arms and slap them together.

Step 7: Rub your hands together lightly.

As a child, I grew up celebrating the African Diaspora by celebrating Matunda Ya Kwanzaa or Kwanzaa (meaning First Fruits in Swahili) alongside Christmas and Umoja Karamu (meaning Unity Feast in Swahili) alongside Thanksgiving. To celebrate the Diaspora is such a gift! It means that we can pull from all of our cultures across the world to find the sweet spot. Black and Brown people are the global majority and celebrating that means we have access to an abundance of resources, research, and ways of being that make us feel whole and held.

Who Are We?

Spoken Word, Spoken Destiny

Objective:

To uplift the spirit and increase the esteem of the participant.

Materials:

-Your mind and heart

-Your breath

-Writing Tool

-Paper

Instructions:

Step 1: Find a comfortable space and take three deep breaths

Community Partners:

Step 2: Think about what you want your destiny to be. Destiny is a particular thing that will happen to/for you in the future. Think about the best thing you want to happen for you in the future. If it’s a word or a sentence, write it down in the center of the paper.

Step 3: Place your hands on that word and close your eyes, think about what it will look like and be like once you reach your destiny.

Step 4: Open your eyes and write all of what you imagined : who was there, what did it smell like and look like, how did you feel.

Step 5: Start a poem with “What I speak will be…” and go from there. This is a free write so it doesn’t have to rhyme but it can if that’s how it comes to you! Take just 10 minutes to do this activity each week, each day, and eventually you will see your destiny right before your eyes!

Partner Organizations:

Aaron Crutchfield

Body Drums & Hand Music

How did you become an artist?

I was first introduced to drama and theater in elementary and then high school. I learned that there was both scripted (the words are already written) and improvised (the performers came up with the words and story in the moment) for innovative (a new and different kind of story or art) theater. After getting my theater degree at UMass university, I began taking improv classes and applying that artistic discipline to all kinds of projects. I began to work on commercials and movies and TV shows, and then I also began to work at summer camps having fun teaching theater art skills to younger people, in addition to my other favorite hobby, ultimate frisbee! I continue to be involved in both of these passions today.

Materials: Body, shaker egg, kazoo

Follow along with a video at www.buzzwordpgh.org/sound

What kind of art do you make and teach?

The art I’m most known for teaching and directing is improvisational theater. In this art, I teach people storytelling, entertaining theater games like on TV, and how to create ideas by collaborating with other people. Also as an actor, I perform both scripted plays like Shakespeare & modern comedies and innovative performance art (live art that doesn’t always tell a story). Sometimes I even model!

Let’s use parts of our body to make sounds:

Step 1: Clap your hands.

What does your art mean to you?

Step 2: Stomp your feet.

Step 3: Pop your ngers.

To me it is helping share a story, an image or idea, even an experience so that the audience takes away a positive experience. It also means hard work, commitment, dedication, and passion because those are the ingredients of the most enriching type of theater art.

Step 4: Carefully slap your shoulder.

Step 5: Carefully slap your thigh.

Step 6: Carefully cross your arms and slap them together.

Step 7: Rub your hands together lightly.

What does “celebrating the African Diaspora” mean to you?

It means celebrating & participating in art presented by people who appreciate, recognize and respect that culture. As an African-American artist, my connection to the diaspora is that of storytelling. I have always enjoyed being able to tell tall tales (a big story that is hard to believe), make people laugh, and share an important or meaningful lesson with the type of performances that I create. Sometimes it takes the form of rhythm and rhyme. Or sometimes it is inspired by African folktales and characters. Sometimes it is just me, bringing my experience to center stage with the awareness and artistic responsibility of bringing a special idea or thought to the spotlight.

Who Are We?

Who

is

the Leader?

Activity

Goals of the game:

The goal of this game is to find and use the skills of observation and attentiveness.

Materials:

This game works best with a group of at least six or seven people.

How to play:

The rules for the game. One player (the Guesser) leaves the room or turns their back while the rest of the group sits in a circle. Silently or secretly the group selects a player whose motions they will all mirror and repeat (The Leader). For instance, the selected player may tap their knee repeatedly, and then change to tapping their shoulder, and then change to tapping their belly, etc.. The player chosen to be the Guesser, turns to the circle and has three chances to figure out who the group secretly selected. Repeat with a new Guesser!

Community Partners:

Partner Organizations:

Dennis Garner

Body Drums & Hand Music

How did you become an artist?

I was born into a family of musical artists and creators. Singing gospel and spiritual songs were a special part of the Home and sometimes would fill the air all day long. While most of my family would focus on using their voices to make music, I had a strong passion for the drums and the rhythms within the music. Kitchen pots and pans became my first drums and long wooden cooking spoons were my drum sticks. It didn't take long before my family realized that I was gifted with the art of rhythm and drum percussion. As a teenager and an adult, I’ve traveled all over the world playing many styles of music and teaching children and adults how to discover the beauty of rhythmic cadences through applied percussion and body movement.

Materials: Body, shaker egg, kazoo

Follow along with a video at www.buzzwordpgh.org/sound

What kind of art do you make and teach?

Applied Percussions & Rhythmic Step Dance. As a Drummer and Step dancer, I truly enjoy the world of music and rhythms. Playing in church as a young child gave me a great start to understand the importance of working with other people to create musical teams. Drumming has helped me to travel and see the world, while at the same time, discovering new ways to move my body on a steady beat from the different music styles around the world.

Let’s use parts of our body to make sounds:

Step 1: Clap your hands.

What does your art mean to you?

Step 2: Stomp your feet.

Step 3: Pop your ngers.

Step 4: Carefully slap your shoulder.

My Art is very special to me and I believe that it is truly a divine gift given to me. And just as much as I enjoy receiving the gift, I take great delight in sharing my gift to the world around me. The world is full of rhythm and movement and I believe people can discover a beautiful connection to the spiritual rhythm inside of them that connects to everything around them. We are all music and we are all our own unique rhythm.

Step 5: Carefully slap your thigh.

Step 6: Carefully cross your arms and slap them together.

Step 7: Rub your hands together lightly.

What does “celebrating the African Diaspora” mean to you?

The celebration of the African Diaspora is very important to me because I believe that the awareness and the reverence for West African culture and its relationship to drums and rhythm helps us to understand a deeper meaning of the percussions, music, & culture of the western world. And through this awareness we can discover how they all connect to each other to influence so many different aspects of the world beyond the Music.

Who Are We?

Rhythm Game Activity

Objective:

A call & response song that engages a steady beat/rhythm that expands in length by adding more rhythmic "branches" on the tree with each person in the drum circle “garden.”

Materials:

Your body and creativity!

Instructions:

the leader starts the steady beat with a simple continuous hand clap, foot stomp, table tap, etc. Everyone else joins in with the same rhythmic movement. The leader begins the call and response song:

Leader: "1-2-3" Group: "1-2-3" Leader: "My drum tree" Group: "My drum tree"

Community Partners:

Partner Organizations:

The leader keeps the steady beat movement they selected and verbalizes the name of the movement. (ex. If the leader is clapping, then he/she would say the word "clap" 3 times while clapping 3 times. The group would then respond with the same expressions).

The leader would then repeat the song chant again and allow the next person in the group to add their own rhythmic movement, but they would have to say and do the previous steady beat movement/s before adding their own. (ex. Second Group person chooses to stomp, but they would say "clap-clap-clap" first, and then say "stomp-stomp-stomp" while doing a stomp movement of their choice).

The song chant would continue as many times as there are people in the group which would then create a continuous growing "drum tree" of words and movement to a steady beat with each person having to remember (to the best of their ability) everyone's preceding rhythmic movement before displaying their own to the group. And before you know it, everyone's branch of steady beat rhythmic movement will create a beautiful drum tree!

David Minniefield

Body Drums & Hand Music

How did you become an artist?

Materials: Body, shaker egg, kazoo

Follow along with a video at www.buzzwordpgh.org/sound

What kind of art do you make and teach?

Let’s use parts of our body to make sounds:

I like to act (play a character), direct (lead the play, pick the actors), produce (make all the decisions about money and business for a play), and teach all kinds of theater! I’ve acted in short and feature length films, as well as live theater with companies like the Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company. I act in plays that were already written and I also write my one plays. I work with schools and organizations all over teaching theater to students of all ages. I’ve even won awards for the plays that I’ve directed with students! My style when teaching has always been: ‘Lead with fun. Be a good role model. And help them grow.’

Step 1: Clap your hands.

Step 2: Stomp your feet.

What does your art mean to you?

Step 3: Pop your ngers.

Step 4: Carefully slap your shoulder.

Step 5: Carefully slap your thigh.

I like to act (play a character), direct (lead the play, pick the actors), produce (make As a kid you're always saying: "Look what I can do?" Artists never grow out of that state, (always pushing)," Look what I can do?" Does it move you to grow Emotionally, Spiritually , Mentally, Creatively and even Physically through my art? Look what I can do? Look at what I've created, look at what I've become through my art. That's what my art says to me.

Step 6: Carefully cross your arms and slap them together.

Step 7: Rub your hands together lightly.

What does “celebrating the African Diaspora” mean to you?

Celebrating my history with pride and freedom with like minded people as myself.

Who Are We?

Theater Matching Activity

A: A stage direction close to the audience.

B: A stage direction away from the audience or close to backstage.

C: A stage direction to the actors left of center stage.

D: A stage direction to the actor's right of center stage

E: The person who designs the dance movements.

Community Partners: Partner Organizations:

F: When an actor has memorized all his or her lines.

G: Actors movement on stage sitting, standing, entering, exiting.

H: The leader or boss of the production he or she tells everyone where to go and what to do.

I: Another word for the audience in their seats.

J: A signal that it is your turn to enter or speak. Answers:

1:A, 2:H, 3:G, 4:C, 5:B, 6:E, 7:D, 8:F, 9:J, 10:I