** Come to class online! Join me LIVE on Wednesday, May 31st, at 1pm U.S. Eastern Time (UTC -4). Explore the current class schedule. **
I'm Jay Sand, musician, children's music teacher and very proud dad of three daughters. I live in Philadelphia where I teach All Around This World global music and world cultures classes to children in my neighborhood. Because of this thing they call the Internet, I can also teach you and your kids anywhere!
The many musics of the Caribbean tell the many tales of the region’s history, from the ancient island life of indigenous population to that population’s devastation at the hands of Spanish, British, French and other colonial powers, from the horrors of the African slave trade to its many lasting political and personal implications, from the devastating mismanagement–if not outright plundering–of some of the region’s post colonial leaders to the generally democratic, and globally interactive countries of the day. We have way too much ground to cover to even start a superficial survey of Caribbean music, but that kind of practical reasoning should never stop us.In our lessons we visit:
— Cuba: where we conjure the spirits of our African ancestors with santeria drums and of our Spanish ancestors with the cha cha cha.
— Haiti: we elect the next Haitian president with the help of rara.
— Dominican Republic: we embrace the deceptive simplicity of merengue.
— Puerto Rico: we let the drums take the lead as we dance he bomba.
— The Bahamas we wake up bright and early on both December 26th and New Year’s Day and dance till the sun comes up to celebrate Junkanoo
— Jamaica: we live the history of Jamaican music from kumina through ska to dancehall ragga.
— St. Lucia: we wear madras, saw wood and dance the kwadril to celebrate Jounen Kweyol.
— Martinique: we dance closer and closer to our partners while we zouk.
— Barbados: we simultaneously honor and dishonor the British Navy with our “landship”
— Trinidad: we not only do the limbo, but we party like there’s no tomorrow–which there is, or at least we hope so, but still....–during Carnival.
No one will be turned away from All Around This World courses due to lack of funds. Discounts and scholarships are available! Check out the pricing secton below for details. Bottom line: if you want to sing with me, we'll make it happen.
ENJOY!
**
HOW DOES THIS WORK? YOU decide the best balance for your family. If you would like to primarily learn through the "KIds Explore the Caribbean" course materials introduced on this page, enroll for the course through this site. Enjoy all the "Kids Explore the Caribbean" lessons any time!
When you enroll I'll be in touch to offer to sign you up for the Explore Everywhere "All Access Pass" e-mail list. When you join that list, each week I'll send you a Zoom login to access that week's livecast class. You are welcome to "come to class" each week to sing and dance with me. We may not be singing songs from the Caribbean in our livecast this seasons, but I guarantee fun.
Tuition details are on the registration page. Questions? Be in touch.