Over the February half term, there were two activity days held in Kings Hill and Canterbury. Young People could come along and take part in different workshops - African Drumming, Chinese Dance and Asian Shadow Puppets - to learn about some arts from different countries.
The day started off with everyone arriving, saying hello and getting to know each other. Once everyone had arrived, we got into our groups which were team Panda, Lion and Asian elephant – named after the countries’ native animals. The group I was in was Lions and we started off the day with African Drumming.
We learnt that the African drum that we were playing was called a Djembe and it is normally found in West African Countries. It is traditionally made from goat skin to provide the drum with high pitched tones. We also learnt there are three main sounds of the Djembe that can be played which are the bass, tone and slap. The bass sound is the low-pitched sound and it is made by hitting the drum in the middle with a heavy hand. The tone sound is the medium pitched sound and it is made by playing the drum on the edge with your fingers. Then the slap is the high-pitched sound (which is the hardest sound of the three to make) and is made by playing it near the edge but slightly further in than the tone sound using the palm of your hand. Once we had learnt the different sounds we could play, we started to learn rhythms on the Djembe which was so much fun. At first, it was difficult to remember the rhythms but with practice and help from the tutor and my group it became a lot easier to remember.
Next, we had Chinese ribbon dance which is a traditional art form that originates from ancient China and is performed with a thick satin ribbon on a stick. You use the ribbon to create patterns and designs in the air. At first, everyone felt a bit silly and shy to take part but once we went through the moves and had a giggle about how we all looked together, everyone enjoyed themselves. It took some practice to make certain patterns in the air because it was harder than it looked but it was so much fun. We performed our dance to traditional Chinese music. By the end, everyone had mastered the dance with one and two ribbons without getting them tangled, twisted or knotted.
Then we had lunch and played some games all together such as stuck in the mud and duck duck goose before we went to our last workshop.
Last but not least, we had Asian Shadow puppets. The puppeteer went through the different kinds of puppets there are such as finger puppet, hand puppet, marionette, and shadow puppets. We learnt that shadow puppets are a part of ancient Indian culture and deliver a good moral or message within the story. The shadow puppetry is performed behind a white sheet with a light beaming through so the figures of the shadow puppets are easier to see. We made our own shadow puppets with black card and a stick and used them to produce a story about an elephant and a dog which is an Indian folktale.
At the end of the day, we showed each other the arts we had learnt by performing them in our groups. This was so much fun because we were working as a team and showed everyone what we had accomplished as a team.
Want to find out more about attending a VSK Activity Day or have an idea for our next day? Then why not contact us!
Chelsea Goodwin
