Music & dances
from the Spanish Americas
Music & Dances
from the Spanish Americas
Students are the star players in a bi-lingual arts education program that highlights 18th century Peruvian music, dance, visual arts and storytelling, using the “Trujillo Codex'' as inspiration. All workshop participants will learn to sing, dance and make art. Students will have the opportunity to display their art work and perform for their peers in a final showcase.
Our program, “Music and Dances from the Spanish Americas” takes us back to life in Spanish America of the 1700s. Since there was no film or video from that time to capture what life was like during that time period, we rely on other sources, such as the Codex Martinez Compañón, also known as the Trujillo Codex from Peru; this set of books contains over one thousand watercolor paintings and twenty musical scores, all documenting life in the Trujillo region of Peru. The watercolors depict dancers in colorful costumes, musicians playing all types of instruments, including European and Native American and African wind and percussion instruments.
Curriculum Goals:
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Students will capture what life was like in early Spanish America through music, dance and archival sources.
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Embody songs and rhythms as well as view the watercolors from the “Trujillo Codex,” depicting life in 18th century Peru.
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Do hands-on visual arts activities such as mask-making, creation of mythical characters and creation of song lyrics.
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Music Skills: learn hand percussion skills and songs from the Trujillo Codex, including melodies both in Spanish and Quechua as well as from Mexico, Cuba and Spain.
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Dance and Creative Movement Skills: students create their own choreography representing the characters and stories from the early Spanish Americas.
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Perform a culminating performance, in which students will sing and dance, as well as articulate themes of personal meaning, making connections between life today and life in early Spanish America.
Photo Gallery
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