Kenny has been actively involved in the professional delivery of music since 1990, working as a session musician and workshop leader both in Zimbabwe and the U.K. He is a member of the widely acclaimed Zimbabwean A Capella group, U'Zambezi, alongside Music for Change's ambassador, Lucky Moyo.
Kenny's lively and informative workshops are a great experience and shouldn't be misssed!
Quotes
"Many of the children who would not have said that they were dancers, joined in with enthusiasm and even performed in front of the other juniors. Their self-esteem was raised! Everyone enjoyed the dance and we all learnt something about the history of the dance too!
Wearing "Wellies" will never be the same again!
We would invite Kenny back again anytime. An excellent day. "St Nicholas Special School, Canterbury
This dance was created by the gold-miners in Southern Africa as a form of communication and entertainment. Talking was banned (it wasted digging time!) and the miners started to use their wellies and hard hats as a means of communicating with one another, as well as a musical instrument
Content
With your workshop leader, take the train journey from your village to the mines of Southern Africa to experience life as a miner. Sing and dance using your wellies, hands and voice as instruments. Each workshop will produce a piece of dance and vocals that can be performed to the school and can also be easily incorporated for future classroom development. This workshop supports several areas of the curriculum, including PE, music, geography, citizenship and PSHE.
The artist will teach a dance and song through easily remembered steps and actions, and repeated lyrics. Depending on the workshop time and the ages and level of participants, the artist may also allow time for the pupils to develop their own section of the dance.
Ages/abilities Ages/abilities
KS1 and above
Special educational needs
Conferences
Training and teambuilding exercises
Numbers
One class size per workshop - maximum of three workshops per day
Time needed
Minimum 60 minutes. A whole day with one class can include global awareness games and activities, which challenge stereotypes and raise understanding of key issues
Space needed
School hall or drama studio, or a large, cleared space
Equipment/facilities to be provided by the school
If children have them, wellies can be brought in for the dance
School/class preparation for artist's visit
Find out what the children know about the country/region and where they got this information. Recent political problems have resulted in more children being aware of Zimbabwe. Children often have negative stereotypes of Africa, which can easily be addressed by incorporating more positive images of the region and its modern cities etc. See further resources for more details.
Find Zimbabwe and Southern Africa on a map, look at its climate, trade, religion, language, sports etc. Are there any celebrities from the region? Explore links between the UK and Southern Africa.
Curriculum links
This workshop is designed to be a cross-curricular activity, including geography, PE and dance, PSHE, citizenship, science (body temperature/keeping warm), numeracy (counting dance moves and repeats) - a little imagination and creativity can link this activity to many parts of the National Curriculum.
Imbube is sung mostly in Zulu. This type of singing started in the 1920s with the founding of such choirs as 'Crocodile' and 'Durban Evening Birds' in South Africa. The Choirs' influence spread like wildfire throughout all Southern African countries where there are communities with Zulu historical origins and connections. Few groups have perfected this form of music and been promoted as much as the present day - and hugely popular - Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
The lyrics of modern imbube are about key social issues such as war, suffering, love, famine, happiness and Christianity, among other things. It was the migrant peoples from poor Southern African states who engaged in the singing and dancing to relieve the monotony of life in the gold mine compounds around Johannesburg where they worked away from their homes and womenfolk.
Content
The artist will teach songs and styles with different Southern African backgrounds. Depending on the workshop time allocated and the ages and level of the participants, the artist may also allow time for the pupils to develop their own lyrics and tune. The songs will also include some movement to bring the songs to life.
(Note: Workshop content and style will vary depeding on the age group and session times involved)
Ages/abilities
KS2 and above
Conferences
Training and teambuilding exercises
Numbers
One class size per workshop - maximum of three workshops per day
Time needed
Minimum 60 minutes. A whole day with one class can include global awareness games and activities, which challenge stereotypes and raise understanding of key issues.
Space needed
School hall or cleared classroom with chairs in a circle
Equipment/facilities to be provided by the school
Whiteboard or OHP for lyrics to be written on. CD and cassette player
School/class preparation for artist's visit
Find out what the children know about the country/region, and where they got this information. Recent political problems have resulted in more children knowing about Zimbabwe and Southern Africa. Children often have negative stereotypes of Africa, which can easily be addressed by incorporating positive images of Africa and modern cities etc.
Find Zimbabwe and Southern Africa on a map, look at climate, trade, religion, language, sports etc of the country/region.
Do the children already know of any musicians from this area? (Ladysmith Black Mambazo, for example.)
Do they like it?
Do they listen to different musical styles at home?
Are there any celebrities from the region?
What are the links between the UK and Southern Africa?
Curriculum links
This is a cross-curricular activity, including music, geography, PSHE, citizenship. A little imagination and creativity can link this activity to many parts of the national curriculum.
