European Body Percussion Project

OVERVIEW

Toumback would like to develop a project around Body Percussion, tying together music and dance on a European scale.
The target is to organize meetup sessions with other European professionals in this field.
The project will be organized into several phases, the first being to meet-up in person to discuss and share our current practices that would in turn begin building a partnership on a European level that would incorporate our different cultural approaches.
All of your expenses incurred from this project will be covered in our proposal.

PRESENTATION

How do we teach rhythm in the 21st century in Europe?
Today, Europe has the greatest legacy of diverse musical traditions. Between formal and mainstream styles, between written and oral transmission where do we stand we today? Contemporary music and its composers are now influenced by the 20th century’s integration of mainstream and world musics.
With that understanding, the questions are:
• How do we teach rhythm today?
• What legacy do we have with this European mix?
• How do we decide how much of this knowledge is relayed orally and in written form?
But most of all:
• What place do we give the the feeling of rhythm and teaching body awareness?
• What part does choreography play in learning rhythm?
• What influences do all traditional and special dances, like flamenco, have on teaching rhythm?
To sum up, what role does the body play in Europe for passing on knowledge?
In the framework of a 2019 European Partnership for Teaching and Professional Training, we would first meet up and explore with a few chosen partners (countries) teaching music through the use of the body.
This partnership will provide us with :
• several role-playing sessions to share and to gain multicultural feedback
• an opportunity to share our knowledge and diverse teaching experiences
• conditions to create long-term partnerships with the aim of improving our own teaching practices, teaching the subject of music in the form of dance and the transmission of music throughout the ages and through different cultures
• different teaching styles that we can compare, and in a later phase, test with various techniques for directing, creating choreographies, and recording the sound in an experimental setting
• time to share and provide feedback during each encounter
• a time to define our short and long-term goals
• a way of measuring the impact of putting such a large scale partnership together and what it can provide for other European institutions
• an opportunity to set up masterclasses with students (in Performing Arts Schools and Institutions) enabling us to compare our various teaching styles
• An opportunity to create adult workshops in multi-sectors
• Group session experimentation with our international students
We would like to suggest several partnerships : in Spain, the Ukraine, Greece, Turkey, Denmark and France. Some of these partners will choose two students from their country, students who are looking to specialize in this field, the others will be guests providing their teaching methods and culture.

PARTNERS

⦁ TOUMBACK – Stéphane Grosjean La Rochelle France
⦁ SSM Project – Santi Serratosa Barcelona – Spain
⦁ RYTHMO Anna LLombart / Jep Melendez Barcelone Spain
⦁ PLAYGROUND – Thanos Daskalopoulos Athènes Grece
⦁ KEKECA Tugay Başar / Timuçin Gürer Istanbul Turkey
⦁ HIP TAP PRODUCTION Leela Petronio France
⦁ Maitre GUILLAUME Sophie Rousseau France
⦁ Conservatory Music LA ROCHELLE France

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

4 MEETINGS

– 14-16 October 2019 Athens Greek
– February 2020 Istanbul Turkey
– Juny 2020 Barcelona Spain
– October 2020 La Rochelle France