Teaching to a different beat

Deanne WalshSome teachers might find live drums in the classroom disruptive. Deanne Walsh, BA’03, wouldn’t have it any other way. As a teacher of West African dance at Decidedly Jazz Danceworks School in Calgary, she wants to offer her students the most authentic learning environment possible.

“West Africa has a rich culture within dance and music,” says Walsh. “They have so little in terms of possessions. In fact, not much more than their bodies and their drums!”

Walsh frequently travels to West Africa to immerse herself in the culture and people and to bring the experience home to her students. The first time she visited the region was as a contemporary dance student on a U of C field study trip in May 2000. In April 2001, she returned to Guinea to study West African dance. After a month, Walsh set off for Ghana where she met up with an archaeology and anthropology field study group to further her knowledge of West Africa and its peoples.

Performing the traditional dances is a hard workout, but Walsh often sees students leave with more energy than they came with. “There’s something about the drums and the moving body that keeps people feeling good about themselves.” Her class explores the roots of West African dance in addition to teaching the rhythms, dances, and songs of the region. In the classroom, Walsh’s teaching method incorporates the techniques of the African artists who taught her. “I’m teaching traditional forms of dance — I’m not just creating the moves myself — so why would I create a method to teach them?”

By Sally Jade Powis