Kakatsitsi Master Drummers

Tue 25 Oct SOLD OUT

Kakatsitsi are a group of traditional drummers, dancers and singers from the Ga tribe of Southern Ghana.

Date	Tue 25 Oct
Location	Schools

Take part adults community orchestra and take part schools kakatsitsi workshops 5

The group regularly visit schools to teach workshops sharing the traditional culture of African music and dance, challenging negative stereotypes of African people and promoting tolerance and celebration of cultural difference.

Hawk’s Well Theatre are bringing the Kakatsitsi Master Drummers to Sligo next October. They can either visit one or two schools in one day as follows:

One Day at one school:
9.00-10.00 – Assembly/ Demo
10.00-11.00 – Workshop 1, 60 children
11.00-12.00 – Workshop 2, 60 children

13.00 – 14.00 - Workshop 3, 60 children
14.00 – 15.00 - Workshop 4, 60 children

One day at two schools:
9.00-10.00 – Assembly/ Demo School 1
10.00-11.00 – Workshop 1, 60 children
11.00-12.00 – Workshop 2, 60 children

13.00 – 14.00 - Assembly/ Demo School 2
14.00 – 15.00 - Workshop 3, 60 children

The following workshops are on offer:

Duration 60 mins

The children are divided into a different groups, one group on drums, the second on the bell and shakers and the third on singing. The groups rotate, spending 15-17 minutes in each group learning skills before they are reunited to put a short collective presentation together.

Duration 60 mins

Groups are split in 2 in this workshop and spend a half hour learning traditional Kpanlogo dance and another half hour learning drumming. In the dance segment, a series of traditional moves are taught with the children shown how to let the rhythm of the drum to guide their movement. The longer drumming workshop enables the children to learn more rhythms and investigate how to put rhythms together. There is no presentation included with this option.

Take part adults community orchestra and take part schools kakatsitsi workshops 3

Some days will be remembered by pupils for the rest of their lives – this was one of those special days

Links with the Irish Curriculum

The music curriculum

to develop the child’s openness to, awareness of and response to a wide range of musical styles.
to enable the child to develop his/her musical potential and to experience the excitement and satisfaction of being actively engaged in musical creativity.
to listen to, enjoy and respond to a wide range of music, including various genres and styles from different periods, cultures and ethnic groups, both live and recorded.
to explore the expressive possibilities of a variety of sound sources, including the voice and home-made and manufactured instruments.
to demonstrate and describe differences between sounds and silences, showing a sense of pulse, tempo, duration, pitch, dynamics, structure, timbre, texture and style.

The dance curriculum

To explore the movements of different parts of the body and the ways in which the body can move in space
To explore a range of dynamics in movement
To explore and communicate through simple body movement a range of moods or Feelings (ie. portraying the moods of creative and folk dance)
To create and perform simple dances
To respond imaginatively through movement to music and rhythm
To perform simple movements to given rhythms
To perform simple folk dances
To develop poise, balance and co-ordination while moving and stopping
To show sensitivity in movement to music

Religious education

Invite students to participate in/observe both Christian and non-Christian ritual
Give an example of a non-Christian ritual and explain its significance for followers of that tradition

Take part adults community orchestra and take part schools kakatsitsi workshops 2

The most thrilling shared experience of the year in our school. The children were gripped instantly. One boy in particular who is very withdrawn seemed to become a drummer himself, tapping and moving to the different rhythms. The inclusion of aspects of the musicians’ lives, such as the homesickness of long distance fishing and discussion about the instruments were so interesting, at times funny but moving as well. I would heartily recommend this exciting and enriching experience to any school.