The Blues Alive curriculum touches upon many facets of musical innovation throughout the African diaspora. We facilitate conversations between the elders and our students, helping bring our shared historical truths to life in the present day.
What we do at Blues Alive is culturally responsive teaching. We curate the lived experiences of our master Griots—they are our culture bearers.
Blues Alive is one of a kind thanks to our fully interactive model.Â
Our students live their own personal blues story through band, studio art, and theater workshops.
We bring our Griots to the students and help guide the conversation through our African-American studies curriculum.Â
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The Blues Alive curriculum touches upon many facets of musical innovation throughout the African diaspora. We facilitate conversations between the elders and our students, helping bring our shared historical truths to life in the present day.
What we do at Blues Alive is culturally responsive teaching. We curate the lived experiences of our master Griots—they are our culture bearers.
Blues Alive is one of a kind thanks to our fully interactive model.Â
Our students live their own personal blues story through band, studio art, and theater workshops.
We bring our Griots to the students and help guide the conversation through our African-American studies curriculum.Â
The students leave our program with an artifact which demonstrates their mastery of the African American history curriculum.
Applied music artifact: participation in our Blues Traditions ensemble rehearsals and concert. Students are coached by and jam with our Griots and faculty.
Applied theater artifact: our students write, direct, and perform a one act play on a night at a Harlem Renaissance speakeasy. We explore dialog, music, and social interactions during the Jazz Age.
Studio art artifact: students publish their own Blues Alive Magazine.
Our curriculum bridges the lived experiences of our elder masters and Griots with the lived experiences and stories of our students. There are plenty of jazz and blues “music in the schools” programs but none which teach students through the oral tradition.
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