Artists at school
Sadio Sissokho, Cheikh Anta Faye, from Senegal and Valérie Ivy Hamelin, mi'gmaq from Gespeg.
We offer two different african workshops as part of this program:
African percussion workshop
The workshop begins with a percussion performance, followed by a presentation of traditional african instruments. The artists will teach an african song and introduce you to the world of rhythms through a fun and inclusive approach.
Students will learn basic djembe hitting techniques and will be able to apply their new knowledge in the development of traditional,african rhythms, each student having their own djembe.
African choral singing workshop
The african singing workshop explores a repertoire of several countries on the african continent through a cappella singing, choral singing and singing accompanied by djembe, kora and body percussion (gumboots). Students will learn vocal warm-up techniques, voice placement and choral singing. They will learn several songs, accompanied by african instruments. Musical reading is not required because there are no scores.
We offer two indigenous workshops in this program
Workshop offered in solo by Valérie Hamelin, member of the Mi'gmaq Nation of Gespeg.
Workshop: Indigenous storytelling, culture, singing and drumming
Participants sit in a circle with the artist. The workshop begins with a welcome song. A presentation of the Mi'gmaq nation of Gespeg and the Gespe'gewa'gi territory follows. The artist presents indigenous drums, with their symbolism and their uses, and shares some traditional songs. Other aspects of Mi'gmaq culture are addressed, such as the special link with the territory, the importance of hunting, fishing and language or even the role of the birch in daily life. The children learn around ten words and a song. At the end of the meeting, participants have the opportunity to reflect on their experience and a question period is planned. The workshop can also focus on the presentation of a Mi'gmaq tale.
Medicinal's Wheel Workshope.
Presentation of the medicinal's wheel, its meaning and its uses. The medicinal wheel, also called the circle of life, is a cosmic symbol and part of the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples. Participants will be invited to think about their own environment (physical and human) in order to design their personal medicinal wheel.
Structure :
Maximum number of students: 35 per workshop
Choice: 1 to 3 1-hour workshops.
Project presentation document
2022-2023
Public school
Project presentation document
2022-2023
Private school
Please contact us to book an activity, check our availability, plan the running of the desired workshops and find out the prices and procedures in order to invite our artists to your school!
Email: info@mosaicultures.com
Telephone: 514-358-3445
For all the information, please consult the website of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education
Part A school welcomes an artist
This component allows students to participate in long-term artistic experimentation (from four to twelve weeks). It also gives artists the opportunity to have a residency experience in a school environment and to draw inspiration from it to create a personal work.
Role of partners
This component encourages the diversification of cultural projects offered to students throughout their training. Artists are invited to introduce young people, in an active and participatory manner, to the world of creation through the discovery of varied works and professions linked to arts and culture.Students participate in projects that put them in contact with the creative thinking of cultural partners, their means of expression, their language and different aspects of the profession. Artists can thus contribute to the development of young people's critical thinking and aesthetic sense, a better understanding of themselves and others as well as the strengthening of their self-esteem.It is important to mention that educational and cultural partners must work together to develop an artistic project. The teacher must be a stakeholder in the project and provide teaching expertise. The cultural partner therefore in no way replaces the teacher when carrying out the project. Its role is to support participating students in a creative process that extends over several weeks.
Presentation of the artists
Valérie (Ivy) Hamelin
Valérie's artistic approach starts from a reflection on cultural identity, a desire to touch the essence of the drum and voices through oral, percussive traditions; and musical. A member of the Mi'gmaq Nation of Gespeg, she is connected to indigenous drumming, then to African percussion. What inspires him:the breath, the murmur, the word, the cry and the steps, its footprints, the rhythm, the cadence, the drum and the beating heart. What characterizes Valérie is the union between the voice, sung, and the rhythm that inhabits the body. It is the transformation of the body into a catalyst, into an instrument of creation. She accompanies her acolytes, Sadio and Cheikh Anta, on doundouns, singing, transverse flute, dancing and gumboots (body percussion).
Sadio Sissokho
Sadio Sissokho comes from the caste of griots, this ancestral line of musicians carrying the Mandinka oral tradition. His favorite instrument, the kora, this African harp-lute, was taught to him by his father. In 1998, Sadio completed his bachelor's degree in percussion at the National Conservatory of Music and Percussion in Dakar. Subsequently, he was a member of several groups such as the Ballets Banaya, Cheik Fall and Famondi. In 2003, he emigrated to Quebec and joined the groups Taafé Fanga, Kabakuwo and Sam Fall. He accompanies countless renowned artists on voice, kora, djembe, tama, doundoun and balafon. In 2004, he founded his group Mafrica, with which he presents a traditional repertoire on percussion and his compositions on the kora. He also began teaching percussion upon his arrival. He works within several companies in animation, educational intervention and in business. He has worked in partnership with the artist collective MosaïCulture since its creation, both in animation and in stage and musical direction.
Sheikh Anta Faye
Cheikh Anta Faye, percussionist, began accompanying the Grands Ballets Sénégalais at the age of 16. Subsequently, he was artistic director of the Forêt Sacrée ballets in Dakar. Arriving in Quebec in 2005, he teaches and hosts at the Samajam percussion school, with which he has given more than 1000 intervention sessions in companies and as many in schools. He has also been responsible for musical teaching and director for large-scale productions, including the International Jazz Festival, the FrancoFolies and the Just for Laughs Festival. A talented teacher, he gives private lessons and accompanies the dance classes of great masters. With more than 25 years of experience, he has shared the stage with the greatest Senegalese percussionist Kissima Diabaté, the Diouf brothers, Bombolessé and he has collaborated with several other groups of varied musical styles. He was seen at Star Académie with Céline Dion and Lionel Richie. He works as an animator in schools and children's parties with Productions Mosaïculture and has supported Mafrica training since 2008.