Cultural Tapestries Project at Colebrook School

Students joined the Cambodian dancers of Somaly Hay in a Peacock Folk Dance.

Artists representing the traditions of West Africa, Cambodia, Eastern Europe and Brazil are visiting the Colebrook School this spring in an exciting new program sponsored by the CT Commission on the Arts. The Cultural Tapestries Project has been designed to introduce children in rural schools to diverse cultural experiences. Writers will work with performing artists to help third and fourth grade students better understand cultural similarities and differences and to enhance the students' writing skills.

Artists will each appear once at the school to present a performance, participate in a student interview and conduct hands-on workshops. Performers include Abdoulaye Sylla from Guinea, West Africa; Somaly Hay from Cambodia; the Klezical Tradition from Eastern Europe; and Efraim Silva from Brazil. They will be joined by a writer who is a CCA Master Teaching Artist to help children reflect on the performances they've seen and the different cultural traditions they have experienced.

Teachers involved with the program have been working with artists, writers, an anthropologist, a curriculum designer and an assessment specialist to create the Cultural Tapestries Project. The CT State Department of Education Interdistrict Grant Program has provided a grant to the CCA; it is hoped that this program will become a model for other rural schools in Connecticut.

Claudette Baril, Chair, School-Family-Community Parnership

First grader Thomas Casey watched the dancers perform.

Third grader Michael DeAngelis participated in the question and answer session that was part of the program.