June Artist Spotlight: Siama Matuzungidi & Dallas Johnson of Siama's Congo
/"I create music for healing, to send a message of happiness to people because the happier people are the more peaceful they will be."
Read MoreCOMPAS (Community Programs in the Arts) News. COMPAS provides award-winning arts education programs throughout Minnesota. Professional teaching artists lead students, youth, older adults and other community members in art-making experiences through programs including: Creative Classroom, Creative Community, Artful Aging, Arts in Healthcare, and ArtsWork a youth employment program.
"I create music for healing, to send a message of happiness to people because the happier people are the more peaceful they will be."
Read More"Teaching and performing feed off of each other. The teaching brings us closer to the audiences and the performing gives weight to our teaching and of course nurtures our creative selves."
Read More"The main thing is that I can’t think of myself as different just because I’m a female. If I work hard and train equally as a male, I can achieve the same result. The only difference is that some moves come easier to a male than a female and vise versa because of where our center of gravity differs."
Read More"When performing, I always remember what an effort it is for people to even decide to come out, to travel, park, pay if needs be, enter an unfamiliar room - what faith they have, to just get to the venue. I always intend to honor that faith, and give them something which over time I have found to be of great value. I do not try to compromise the music or song with too many efforts to be popular or familiar."
Read More"With younger kids—say K-3rd grade—the mechanics of spelling and the effort of handwriting can get in the way of pleasure. For older adults with dementia or physical limitations, writing by hand is not always possible. In both cases, focusing on the orality of poetry makes its original delight accessible to all. Respect and love matter in both settings, also imagination and reverie."
Read More"Everything I do is to foster my creativity. Every moment is utilized during the day. It could be in the way I move to pick something up. It could be the way I say hello to a server at a restaurant. It could be how I am answering this question. I try to take each occurrence throughout the day and analyze why they happened. As an actor: so that I can act better. As a clown: so that I can clown better. As a musician: so that I can express the music better."
Read More"I have taught and choreographed in Minnesota, California, Haiti and Cuba, using dance and music to empower people of all ages and connect them with crucial outlets for self-expression. I have always found a way to practice and share the songs and dances that run in my blood. Despite limited resources; I take time to build community wherever I go."
Read More"Verbal storytelling gives me the chance to create a world with word images. It transports us to new places and can inspire us to dare great things, even when we're feeling scared. Stories are also powerful lessons, showing us how to solve problems and face overwhelming odds."
Read More"This isn’t a very dramatic story, but I think it’s an important story for students to hear: first, you don’t have to be a certain type of outgoing, energetic person to be a performance artist. Second, a lot of this work is more about relationships than natural talent. Finally, and kind of combining those two impulses, spoken word is very much about building community and telling our stories. There’s power in that, more power than just going up on stage and getting high scores from the judges."
Read More"Arts education is needed in our community to expand children’s worlds. Art gives children a chance to express themselves in new ways that perhaps hadn’t been available to them before. Kids who have trouble sitting still have the opportunity to get up and move. A teacher comes in who says you want to make a funny noise? Yes please! Just do it on cue!"
Read More"Art is the best way to learn about different cultures. By learning about different cultures through art a student thinks and finds their own way to respect and find both similarities and unique qualities of various cultures. With respect they will learn to love every human being and respect their own culture and help to change the world with love."
Read More"I love other art forms, over my life so far I’ve played classical viola and piano, I’ve played fiddle and accordion, I’ve sculpted, painted and made woodcuts and intaglio prints. But writing is the thing I can’t not do."
Read More"Teaching is my heart. Seeing the immediate effect art can have on the students is wonderful. Watching them ask questions, test boundaries, gain confidence, and create works they're proud of is why I teach. It's so neat to take an idea from my head and watch as the students turn it into something real and often even more amazing than I could ever have dreamed."
Read More"I began training in Carnatic music at the age of 6. I have been told by my parents that I would always want to perform, even from the age of 2 or 3, inviting my friends and family to watch my ‘performances.' Some of the greatest influences of my life have been the environment in which I grew up, the South Indian city of Chennai and its cultural background where young children were encouraged to follow their interest in the arts, even from a very young age."
Read More"I see the arts as the center point of academics - all other disciplines can be mediated, experienced, explored, and digested through the arts. I think that arts education has the possibility to open up a space to consider our ecological, social, economical context by working to reveal the complexity of our belief systems and the emotional responses that inform the decisions we choose to make. And for that reason, I believe it is indispensable."
Read More"Learning about art is learning about yourself, as well as the world. It’s learning about your history as a human on this earth. You learn how (not what) to think, how to study what you feel, how to give voice to what’s important to you."
Read More"Not every child has family willing to take them to concerts, art galleries, or museums. Within the school setting, with the help of COMPAS artists, children, and adults in Artful Aging, can literally go anywhere."
Read More"The future belongs to the creative and COMPAS fosters that in its artists and the work that it does in the schools and communities."
Read More"As a teaching artist you need to learn how to relate to people of all ages, and all interest levels, from non-existent to totally engaged."
Read More"Since we’re musicians with open ears and a taste for “exotic” sounds, we get exposed to a lot of stuff that the average person may not be aware of. We feel fortunate, and love to spread that good fortune. And many of these instruments and singing styles have common elements, in the ways they sound, the feelings they evoke, sometimes the way the sounds are produced, and often even the intentions behind them."
Read MoreCOMPAS - Art for Life's Sake!
Arts Education throughout Minnesota that sparks students’ imagination, brings creativity to older adults, and inspires people to create. COMPAS brings art to people. Professional artists work alongside students, teachers, senior citizens to discover their own creativity.
ASL interpreters and translators can be requested for COMPAS-led events with two weeks advance notice.
To make arrangements or for further help, please call 651-292-3209 or email jes@compas.org.
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