Around the World Music, Song, Dance and Art

In this ongoing course your child will be taught about music 🎶 from around the world. We will watch videos and discuss the use of music within the culture, then use our knowledge to take part as a group in performing the music we have discovered. 

Each lesson will conclude with an art activity related to the particular culture. We will also colour in a map of the world to see where the music takes us.

Monday (4pm London time)

Week 1: w/c 22.03.2021 - Music and dance of Ireland. Play your instruments to an Irish jig performed by one of my daughters, and have a go at a few steps! Watch an extract from The Riverdance and drum along to the rhythm of the dance. Conclude with an Irish folk tale - Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato by Tomie de Paola and do a leprechaun art related activity. Jamie O'Rourke is the laziest man in all of Ireland!

Week 2: w/c 29.03.21 - Africa. Let's explore the exciting rhythms of African drumming. We will watch videos and discover the music and dance of this vast continent. Discover call and response, repetition, rhythms and conclude with some African art. Watch an African folk-tale about the First Music.

Week 3: w/c 19.04.21 Australia - music of the Aborigines from North Australia. Discover the music, dance and Aboriginal art and join us in performing along to some fantastic displays of this culture. Come and find out about the didgeridoo and make your own animal sounds through your hands. Dance, play clapsticks and drum along to a didgeridoo drum dance. Fancy doing some Aboriginal art? Look at some images of dot painting and have a go yourself!

Week 4: w/c 26.04.21 Music and dance of Latin America. Fancy playing along with the pan-pipes, the bongo, shakers and many other exciting instruments? Feel the beat and move or play with the salsa music! Let me take you to Rio. Let's play and dance to 'Bomboleo' by the Gypsy Kings. Finally conclude with fantastic colourful art work based on the film RIO. 

Week 5: w/c 03.05.21 China and the music of the Chinese New year dragons and lions! Can you dance, move and play to the drumming? Examine the instruments and the rhythm. Use your instruments to accompany the Chinese New year dragon and lion dances. Make a concertina Chinese dragon or lion.

Week 6: w/c 10.05.21 Indonesian Gamelan and  shadow puppet theatre. Gamelan means 'to hit' , so anything goes in this lesson! Mallet instruments of any kind accompanied by vocal sounds of any kind. Drums, xylophones, glockenspiels, pan lids for gongs - be creative! Find out about this interesting history of Indonesia and play along to a fantastic Gamelan performance. Watch an example of the shadow puppet theatre and traditional dances accompanied by gamelan. Create your own shadow puppets with paper and sticks (or straws). For further fun at home, watch how to create your own theatre out of an old box. Colouring pictures are of dancers in costume.


Monday (7pm London Time)
Week 1: 22.02.2021
week 2: 01.03.2021
week 3: 08.03.2021
week 4: 15.03.2021
week 5: 22.03.2021
week 6: 29.03.2021

week 1: 19.04.2021
week 2: 26.04.2021
week 3: 03.05.2021
week 4: 10.05.2021
week 5: 17.05.2021
week 6: 31.05.2021


Wednesday 8.20am London Time

week 1: 16.06.2021
week 2: 23.06.2021
week 3: 30.06.2021
week 4: 07.07.2021
week 5: 14.07.2021
week 6: 21.07.2021




Friday section (begins 23rd April) 8.15pm London Time