Tribal Rhythms: Educational Arts Celebration

Tribal Rhythms Company, 2004
Rebecca, Matt, Wyoma, Barbara, Eva
Curtis, Susan, Charley
photo by Self-Timer

"Goooooooood!" two hundred children respond together in adorable rote when Susan asks how they are this morning at Mile Tree Elementary in Wilbraham, MA. It is 8:45 am, 12 hours earlier than most grown-ups go to the theater. Within the hour, all the children and their teachers will delight in each other by playing handmade percussion instruments and then giggle-dancing in a 300 foot conga line together. I lead this line, weaving swaying kids and loosened teachers past each other so they can wave to their friends as we wiggle on by. I play several parts in the show including demonstrating world music instruments and acting out the story of how cave people may have discovered music - by accident!

Tribal Rhythms has performed for over one million kids, teens, adults, and families since the 1970s. I spent about 4 years with this vaudeville show about how to use the arts to belong and get along. Charley Holley, one of the founders of Tribal Rhythms, embodied this philosophy as a sculptor, musician and significantly as a mentor to other artists. He passed away in 2006, leaving a vibrant show that continues to teach groups of any age how to bring out the best in each other.