ROSA CRUZ, DANCE, AND MOVEMENT

Rosa Cruz is a local Cleveland dancer and instructor who has her own youth dance company called ‘Latin Dance Rebels’, named such as they use the traditional dance techniques while adding their own contemporary twists.

Rosa led the students every morning for the second week of camp in a warm-up and dance lesson. The students learned the cha-cha and salsa and Rosa choreographed movements for the Popurri de Cha Cha the students performed. This gave the students the opportunity to maintain the rhythm in their bodies as they played their instruments and helped develop their stage presence.

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Artistic Director Of The University Of Akron's Steel Drum Band​, Matt Dudack has been with the band since 1996 and has been artistic director since 1998. Matt shared his experience with the students when he traveled to Trinidad to get a first-hand look at the home of pan. Students learned specific steel pan techniques for the bucket drums and practice mostly the music repertoire from Trinidad. Matt also shared his experience performing as executive director for “Hammer on Steel,” a DVD and PBS broadcast recorded in Trinidad which was nominated for 8 Emmy awards.

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Okan fuses Afro-Cuban and other global rhythms with jazz, folk, and classical forms. Elizabeth Rodriguez and Magdelys Savigne, the two Cuban women behind Okan, now reside in Toronto, Canada, and are both composers and multi-instrumentalists.

Their workshop focused on traditional chants and rhythms played on the bata drums. Students learned about each of the three bata drums and their significance to the structure of the rhythmic patterns. They learned about the story behind each chant and how to sing the chants while playing these different rhythms. They also taught vocal harmony and techniques specific to each instrument to help them understand the Cuban sound. The students were able to rehearse ‘El Manisero’ with Magdelys on congas and Elizabeth on vocals and violin.

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SAMMY DELEON & RAY GUZMAN

These two Puerto Rican musicians have been playing music together professionally for decades. Their chemistry and enthusiasm as instructors of Puerto Rican music are as infectious as their energy and presence on stage. They led the history lesson for Puerto Rican day using the video & curriculum material from Cultural Resources LLC. The students were able to learn rhythms specific to Puerto Rico as well as how dancers interact with the drummers and infer many of the intricacies of these rhythms with their movements.

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