Workshops

Standing Rock Cultural Arts presents

“Make it Go Round” Hula Hoop Workshop
-Learn how to make a hula hoop
-Start from scratch
-Create Your Own To Take Home

Saturday August 14, 3:30-5:30pm
-The Yard next to The North Water Street Gallery.
-257 N. Water St.
-after the Hula Hoop demo at The Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social at The
Home Savings Plaza from 2:30-3pm.
-a possible second workshop will be held Wednesday, August 18, if
there’s enough interest. (Time TBA).

FEE: $25 per participant
-covers materials
-includes your own finished hula hoop ready to take home!

INSTRUCTOR: Emily Parker.
-call Emily for more Info. 330-673-5955

SIGN-UP CONTACT: 330-673-4970. Pre Registration required.

THE HISTORY OF THE HULA HOOP

Thousands of years have passed since the first hula-hoop came into
being. Unlike the modern version, which is made of plastic, the first
hula-hoops were essentially made from the more earthy materials like
wood, grass and vines. Bamboo and metal hula-hoops were also in vogue.
The dried grapevines were twisted into circular hoops, which were swung
around the waist, but some pulled the hoops along the ground with the
help of a stick. In England both adults and kids were crazy about
hooping and the result of enthusiastic hooping was in some cases a
dislocated back or a heart attack.

The origin of the hula-hoop’s nomenclature is interesting. When some
British sailors chose to visit the Hawaiian Islands in the nineteenth
century, they discovered that the popular hula dancing of the island and
the way the hoop was swung around the body was almost similar. The word
“hula” in the Hawaiian language refers to dance. Thus the hoop came to
be known as hula-hoop.

Wooden Hula Hoops were introduced in Australian stores in 1957 after
they proved to be a popular exercise tool in schools. Richard P. Knerr
and Arthur K. Melvin of Wham-O, a fledgling California toy manufacturer,
soon took notice of the Hula Hoop craze and began selling plastic hoops
in the United States. Within four months, twenty-five million Hula Hoops
had been sold! For the true origin of the Hula Hoop, however, we must
delve much deeper in history. Thousands of years ago, children in
ancient Egypt were known to play a similar game with large hoops of
dried grapevines which they propelled along the ground with a stick or
swung around the waist.

An Australian company took advantage of the craze and began making
hula-hoops out of wood. Not to be outdone a Californian manufacturer
–Richard P. Knerr and Arthur K. Melvin manufactured a lighter version of
the hoop using materials like plastic. They also made it in various
colors. They managed to sell almost 20 million hoops. Wham-o as their
company was called priced the hula-hoop at about $2 and made a fortune
within six months. This was in the year 1958. Like any other fad, the
craze died down in the sixties, but because fitness has now become a
watchword, it is still used in many parts of the world.

The hula-hoop became so popular that many competitions were held. Basic
criteria were set for the marathon records and the number of people who
participated was amazing. The hula-hoop had to be continuously revolved
in the area between the shoulders and the hips. This called for intense
concentration and control of body and mind. The competitor had to ensure
that the hoop did not go above the shoulders or below the hip and once
the hoop had commenced spinning, the hand could not touch it. No breaks
were allowed. Since hula hooping was known to trigger off heart attacks
or dislocated backs, the competition was always held in the presence of
the medical fraternity.

The craze for hula hooping may not be as intense as it was in the 18th
and nineteenth century, but one cannot deny the fascination that this
simple sport has. It keeps the ugly bulges at bay and is also a simple
form of positive entertainment.

New World Children's Theatre Playwriting Workshop

-This theatrical production is the culmination of the New World
Children's Theatre Playwriting Workshop that took place Saturday,
January 9, 2010-May 2010 at the North Water Street Gallery, Kent, OH.

New World Children's Theatre Presents:
"Through The Onion Patch. (When People Fall Through Holes)"
May 21-23 at the
African Community Theatre. Oscar Ritchie
Hall. Terrace Drive. KSU Main Campus

CLICK HERE for more information

Images from the workshop

The New World Children’s Theater began as The New World Puppet Theater
at the North Water Street Gallery in Kent, Ohio, in January of 1993.
Originally, it was comprised of home-school children. Throughout the
years , however, it has grown to include public-schooled children as
well. Eventually, the troupe outgrew the puppets and the ensemble became
The New World Children’s Theater, which has produced 24 plays since
1994. In addition to the emphasis on original playwriting, the company
is dedicated to using recycled materials in the construction of its sets
and props. This fosters an understanding of a sustainable planet as well
as an understanding of how to work with limited resources. The only
requirement is an active imagination.

The New World Children’s Theatre is always looking for donations to
support students from low income families as well as our our ongoing
activities.

Donations are tax deductible and can be made to
Standing Rock Cultural Arts,
257 N. Water St.,
Kent, Ohio 44240.

Thank you for supporting the kids.

Jeff Ingram/Director
New World Children’s Theatre
257 N. Water St.
Kent, OH 44240
330-673-4970

NEW WORLD CHILDREN’S THEATRE HISTORY

1. One for the Money, Two for the Show 1993

2. Her Child, Her Master 1993

3. Erie 1994

4. The Face of Fear 1995

5. Juliette’s Balcony 1995

6. The Butterfly Princess 1995

7. East of the Sun, West of the Moon 1996

8. The Case of the Canine Kidnap Caper 1996

9. Ruckus in Portage County 1996

10. Attack of the Killer Coral 1996

11. Bizzare 1997

12. Return to Atlantis 1998

13. Ironic Mousse 1999

14. Skits-o-phrenia 1999

15. The Tycoon 2000

16. Channel Zero 2001

17. Le Poulet Sans Tete 2002

18. The Giving Tree (original adaptation) 2003

19. Zoo Escape 2004

20. Wild Things 2005

21. Island of Stray Cats 2006

22. Fits vs. Fats 2007

23. Elyia and The Ghosts of The Missing Animals 2008

24. The Future is Now 2009

Halim El-Dabh Drum Workshop
-Learn African Drum History and different Drum Techniques

Saturday: November 14, 2009 3-5pm
Sunday, November 15,2009 3-5pm

North Water Street Gallery, 257 N. Water St., Kent

FEE: $20 covers all classes. Take one or both classes.

SIGN-UP: 330-673-4970

MAXIMUM STUDENTS: 20
-All levels of students welcome

Goal: To enlighten students about the many musical and therapeutic
possibilities associated with learning a few basic drum techniques.

Objectives:
-To provide a history of how drums are used in many cultures around the
world.
-To provide a basic understanding of the rhythm and techniques involved
with playing a hand drum

Materials: Please provide a drum if possible. We have a few extrapercussion instruments. Please call to reserve one if needed. 330-673-4970

Halim El-Dabh Website: www.halimeldabh.com

About the Instructor:

HALIM CELEBRATED HIS 4,088TH BIRTHDAY ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4TH, 2009.
8:00PM AT THE NORTH WATER STREET GALLERY IN DOWNTOWN KENT

HE HAS RETURNED FROM A COUPLE OF PERFORMANCES THAT FEATURED HIS WORK: AT
THE KENNEDY CENTER IN WASHINGTON D.C. ON MAY 7, AND AT COLUMBIA
UNIVERSITY IN NEW YORK CITY ON MAY 9.

HALIM EL-DABH
BIOGRAPHY:
(b. Halim Abdul Messieh El-Dabh, Cairo, 4 March 1921)

Composer, performer, ethnomusicologist, and educator Halim El-Dabh is
internationally regarded as Egypt's foremost living composer of
classical music, and one of the major composers of the twentieth century.

His numerous musical and dramatic works have been performed throughout
Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Among his compositions are
eleven operas, four symphonies, numerous ballets, concertos, and
orchestral pieces, works for band and chorus, film scores, incidental
music for plays, chamber and electronic works, music for jazz and rock
band, works for young performers, and pieces for various combinations of
African, Asian, and Western instruments.

His extensive ethnomusicological researches, conducted on several
continents, have led to unique creative syntheses in his works, which,
while utilizing contemporary compositional techniques and new systems of
notation, are frequently imbued with Near Eastern, African, or ancient
Egyptian aesthetics.

Born into a musical family in Cairo, El-Dabh studied piano and derabucca
(goblet-shaped ceramic drum), and began composing at an early age.
Although trained for a career as an agricultural engineer, his musical
talent and immersion in Egypt's cosmopolitan musical life (including
village drumming and local festivals, Arabic and European classical
music, and the jazz clubs of Alexandria) increasingly led him toward a
life in music. An early introduction to contemporary music came in 1932,
when the young El-Dabh was able to meet the composers Béla Bartók and
Paul Hindemith at an international music conference organized by King
Fuad in Cairo. By 1949 El-Dabh had gained such notoriety for his
avant-garde compositions and piano playing--among both the general
public and the royal family--that the cultural attachés of various
nations began to invite him to pursue further musical studies in their
countries. El-Dabh chose to apply to study music in the United States,
and was one of only seven Egyptians (out of 500 applicants) to receive a
Fulbright grant in that year.

Arriving in the United States in the summer of 1950 (and later acquiring
U.S. citizenship), El-Dabh traveled to the Aspen Music Center in
Colorado, where he met and assisted Igor Stravinsky. After researching
Native American music in New Mexico, he began studies with Aaron Copland
and Irving Fine at the Berkshire Music Center in Massachusetts. Later,
in New York's vibrant musical scene, he developed close associations
with many prominent and like-minded figures in twentieth-century music,
including Henry Cowell, John Cage, Alan Hovhaness, Leonard Bernstein,
Edgard Varèse, Otto Luening, Vladimir Ussachevsky, Ernst K_enek, and
Luigi Dallapiccola. During the 1950s and ‘60s, El-Dabh was grouped with
fellow composers Hovhaness, Lou Harrison, Colin McPhee, Paul Bowles, and
Peggy Glanville-Hicks, under the rubric “Les Six d’Orient” (the term
coined by Glanville-Hicks), representing the vanguard of contemporary
composers writing music inspired by musics of the East.

Having also achieved renown for his virtuoso derabucca playing, in 1958
El-Dabh played the solo part in the premiere of his Fantasia-Tahmeel
(for derabucca and strings), with the American Symphony Orchestra under
Leopold Stokowski. Also in 1958, he began working closely with the great
American choreographer Martha Graham, composing the epic opera-ballet
Clytemnestra (1958), which is considered Graham’s masterpiece; he
eventually composed three more ballet scores for her. El-Dabh’s
orchestral/choral score for the light show at the pyramids of Giza has
been played there each evening since 1961, and is probably his most
frequently heard work. His Opera Flies (1971) is the only opera to have
been composed on the theme of the Kent State tragedy of May 1970.

In addition to his compositional activity, El-Dabh has also conducted
musical field research and recording throughout Egypt and Ethiopia, as
well as in Eritrea, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zaire, Central
African Republic, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Niger,
Morocco, Greece, Macedonia, Uzbekistan, Brazil, Mexico, and Jamaica. He
has also studied the Native American cultures of the American Southwest
and the African American cultures of the southeastern U.S. El-Dabh is
also considered an expert on the subject of traditional Egyptian and
African puppetry, and has helped to present a number of such puppetry
troupes in the United States. While in Ethiopia (1962-64), he formed
Orchestra Ethiopia, the first pan-Ethiopian performing group.

In his works, El-Dabh frequently draws on his Egyptian heritage, as in
Mekta' in the Art of Kita' (1955), The Eye of Horus (1967), Ptahmose and
the Magic Spell (1972), Ramesses the Great (Symphony no. 9) (1987), and
many others. He has created new systems of notation for the derabucca,
and has revived interest in ancient Egyptian language and musical
notation. Many of his works from the 1960s on are also heavily
influenced by West African traditional musics, such as Black Epic (1968)
and Kyrie for the Bishop of Ghana (1968), and still other works bear the
influences of the musics of Ethiopia, Brazil, India, China, Japan,
Korea, and other nations.

Also a pioneer in the field of electronic music, El-Dabh began early
sonic experiments with wire recorders at the Middle East Radio Station
of Cairo in 1944. In 1959 he was invited by Otto Luening and Vladimir
Ussachevsky to join the first group of composers at the newly set up
Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center in New York, where he created
a number of significant works. His Leiyla and the Poet (1959-61),
recorded for Columbia Masterworks in 1964, is considered a classic of
the genre. A long-awaited CD compilation of many of these pioneering
electronic works, entitled Crossing Into the Electric Magnetic, was
released in 2001 by Without Fear Recordings. In 2005, El-Dabh was
commissioned by the American Music Center's Siday Music on Hold Program
to compose a new electroacoustic work to be used for the American Music
Center's telephone system.

El-Dabh's recent works include the ballet score In the Valley of the
Nile (1999), composed for the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Company; the
piano concerto Surrr-Rah (2000), written for pianist Tuyen Tonnu; and
Ogún: Let Him, Let Her Have the Iron (2001), for soprano and chamber
ensemble. His most recent project, the opera/theater piece Blue Sky
Transmission: A Tibetan Book of the Dead, was presented in September
2002 in Cleveland, Ohio and in New York.

El-Dabh has served on the faculty of Kent State University's School of
Music since 1969, and has also taught at Haile Selassie I University in
Ethiopia (1962-64) and Howard University in Washington, D.C. (1966-69)
He is one of only eight Kent State University faculty members to hold
the title of University Professor, Kent State's highest faculty
distinction, and is a recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award
(1988). Retiring in 1991, Emeritus Professor El-Dabh continues to teach
and compose prolifically, in addition to conducting workshops for
children. Presently, El-Dabh is an adjunct professor at Kent State
University's Department of Pan-African Studies, where he teaches a
course entitled African Cultural Expression. In this course, students
are immersed in and participate in a holistic experience of music, art,
song, dance, and drama as it is found in the environment of a pristine
African village (which El-Dabh experienced during his years of living in
villages while traveling throughout Africa).

El-Dabh's music is published by C. F. Peters, and his works have been
recorded by the Columbia Masterworks, Folkways, Egyptian Ministry of
Culture and National Guidance, Auricular, Pointless Music, Luna Bisonte,
Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie Karlsruhe, NCG, Without Fear,
Tedium House (Bananafish), Association for Consciousness Exploration,
and Innova labels. There are entries on El-Dabh in nearly all major
musical reference works, and his work is discussed in books by Akin
Euba, Ashenafi Kebede, Adel Kamel, Gardner Read, and others. The
first-ever biography of the composer, The Musical World of Halim
El-Dabh, by Kent State University professor Denise A. Seachrist, was
published by the Kent State University Press in April 2003.

El-Dabh holds degrees from Cairo University, the New England
Conservatory of Music, and Brandeis University. He has served as a
cultural and ethnomusicological consultant to the Smithsonian
Institution’s Folklife Program (1974-1981), and his numerous grants and
awards include two Guggenheim Fellowships (1959-60 and 1961-62), two
Fulbright Fellowships (1950 and 1967), two Rockefeller Fellowships (1961
and 2001), the Cleveland Arts Prize (1990), a Meet-the-Composer grant
(1999), and an Ohio Arts Council grant (2000). In May 2001 he received
an honorary doctorate from Kent State University. In 2001, the composer
celebrated his eightieth birthday with a festival of his music, which
included more than 15 concerts and lectures, both in the U.S. and around
the world. In March 2002 he was invited to celebrate his eighty-first
birthday with a series of four concerts of his music at the recently
reconstructed Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Library of Alexandria) in
Alexandria, Egypt.

Some of El-Dabh's recent activities include being the keynote speaker
for the Fela Sowande (1905-1987) Memorial in Cambridge, England in 2005,
which acknowledges the many achievements of the Nigerian born Sowande as
Yoruba Chief, ethnomusicologist, music composer, and musician. Known as
the "Father of Nigerian Art Music," Chief Sowande and El-Dabh were close
friends and colleagues at KSU during the 1980's. In 2005 El-Dabh and a
group of KSU musicians performed El-Dabh's works with the String
Orchestra of Alexandria at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, in Egypt.

He performed with prominent African musicians, including Ismael (Pops)
Mohamed, in Johannesburg, South Africa, at the UNAZI ("lightening" in
Zulu) conference (2005). This was the first African Electronic Music
Festival in history. In 2005 El-Dabh presented "Africa meets Asia," a
series of workshops that explored the encounter of African and Chinese
music, at The Central Conservatory of Music, in Beijing, China. While
here, he also explored the idea of African pianism with Akin Euba, a
distinguished African ethnomusicologist and composer. El-Dabh and Euba
continued this exploration in conferences held in Cambridge, England,
and St. Louis, Missouri.

In 2007 El-Dabh’s concerto “Invisible Bridge,” commemorating the
Underground Railroad, was premiered in Dayton, Ohio by the Dayton
Symphony Orchestra and Black American cellist Karen R. Patterson.
Together with the African ethnomusicologist, Kwabena Nketi, El-Dabh has
participated in African Music workshops at Northwestern University
(1968). El-Dabh has also collaborated with KSU professors on a regular
basis. In 1983 he transcribed ballad music recorded by Manuel da Costa
Fontes (Romance Languages) on the island of Sao Jorge, Azores. El-Dabh
wrote "Egyptian Calypso" for “Flash In The Pan,” the KSU Trinidadian
style steel drum ensemble, and has written for the KSU Orchestra and
several chamber ensembles performing at KSU.

Students who have studied El-Dabh’s drumming techniques in depth, such
as Blake Tyson, Associate Professor of Percussion at the University of
Central Arkansas, have continued to perform and teach his works. Tyson
also accompanied El-Dabh and performed his works at the UNYAZI Festival
and at the Beijing Conservatory. El-Dabh wrote “Symphony for 1000
Drums,” which was portrayed by one thousand drums in Cleveland (2006)
and in Fort Collins, Colorado (2008). This symphony invokes the
goddesses of ancient Egypt and Yorubaland. El-Dabh also participates
regularly in activities in the Kent community. One highlight is his
annual birthday party, which is hosted by Standing Rock Cultural Arts in
downtown Kent and will be celebrated again this coming March 4th when
El-Dabh will turn 89.

This year, he has produced 9 CDs representing the range of styles of his
writing over his lifetime.

- Biography compiled by Deborah El-Dabh and David Badagnani

Standing Rock Cultural Arts is a 501(c)(3) organization. We are always
looking for sponsors to help cover expenses for our art and educational
activities. Donations are tax deductible.

Checks payable to:

SRCA
257 N. Water St.
Kent, OH 44240