Outstanding performers teach traditional Appalachian, African-American, and Native American dances and “play party games,” involving patterns of singing, dancing, poetry, mimicry, and play-acting. Each program features step-by-step instructions as well as a complete student performance of the game or dance. An interview with the performer gives the historical and cultural contexts of the dance.
Grade Levels: K-8
Resource Types: 4 Videos
Goin' to Boston
Taught by Appalachian storyteller Anndrena Belcher. Discussion topics: changing attitudes toward dance, immigration from the British Isles to North America.
Little Johnny Brown
Taught by African-American musician and storyteller Paula Larke. Discussion topics: types of games, oral tradition, African settlement in America, slave life.
Weevily Wheat
Taught by Anndrena Belcher. Discussion topics: Britain’s Bonnie Prince Charlie, genealogy, family traditions, heroes.
Zuni Harvest Dances
Taught by Zuni storyteller Arden Kucate. Discussion topics: history of the Southwestern American Indians, daily life of the Pueblo peoples, similarities and differences among cultures.