CAC Artist Samples 2019

Wearing traditional regalia, Eddie Madril uses American Indian dances, sign language, live singing and drumming to reveal the empowering and inspiring Plains Indian culture.

Kumu Māhea Uchiyama and Halau Ka Ua Tuahine introduce students to the music and dance of Hawai’i including ukulele, chant, and percussion. Students learn hula rhythms and the basic footwork and hand motions used to illustrate these storytelling dances.

San Jose Taiko celebrates America’s cultural diversity, educating children and teachers about the history of taiko and its links to Japan and to local Japanese American communities. Through explanations of the history and philosophy of the art form as well as student participation on the drums, San Jose Taiko engages students to actively participate in its high-action demonstrations.

Caribbean Express demonstrates the role music plays in the cultural identity, history and geography of the Caribbean Islands of Latin America including Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Students will dance, clap and sing as they learn to play rhythms of the clave, congas, maracas y mas!

Chinyakare presents an electrifying performance of the traditional dance, music, and culture of Zimbabwe and Southern Africa. The music (played on mbira, ngoma, marimbas, and chipendani), songs, and dance weave colorful stories that show scenes from everyday life, while teaching important life lessons, such as goal-setting, perseverance, and thankfulness. The Chinyakare Ensemble is a family of musicians, dancers and teachers committed to preserving and sharing traditional Zimbabwean culture, and promoting community building and education through music and dance.

Percussionists who dance and sing, Crosspulse weaves the oldest musical instrument, the human body, with instrumental webs of hand drums, bells, claves, gongs, shek’er’e, berimbau and more.

From Mali, Senegal, Guinea, the Ivory Coast, Liberia, Gambia and the United States, Diamano Coura West African Dance Company has been dedicated to the preservation, education, and appreciation of traditional West African music, dance, theater and culture since 1975. Diamano Coura, in the Senegalese Wolof language, means “those who bring the message.”