Music teachers workshop

Pat Arnow

Lorraine Bravo (right) of PS 228 in Queens, with Helen Sorenson of PS 130 in Brooklyn, wears a super-stretchy body suit for an exercise in creating “movement numbers.” More photos >>

Pat Arnow

Playing their instruments are (from left) Deon Garrick of PS 20 in the Bronx, Gilgoff and Grace Park-Kang of PS 46 in Queens.

Dozens of teachers participated in “The Sound of Dance … The Color of Song,” a workshop on April 9 at union headquarters that they credited for providing them with plenty of fun and ideas for their classrooms. The event, jointly sponsored by the New York City Music Teachers Association/UFT and the Music Educators Association of New York City, was presented by Laura Koulish and Danai Gagne, co-authors of “A Seasonal Kaleidoscope.” “They each have their own forte and together make an amazing duo,” said Sharon Golub, co-chair of the Music Teachers Association. The multisensory experience of “color songs,” rhythmic speech, stomping dance and other activities are guaranteed imagination sparkers for K-5 kids. These techniques are ideally suited for teaching sequential musical concepts and creating assembly programs with multicultural appeal for school communities and parents. Participants, all of whom received four hours of professional development credit, brought their own recorders and small percussion instruments and were on their feet most of the time to the sounds and motions of drums, xylophones, singing and scarf dancing. Josh Gilgoff of the Mickey Mantle School in Manhattan demonstrated a “teliva,” a noisemaker he adapted from an instrument made from gourds he had come across on a trip to Ghana. The workshop was the fifth and last of this school year. “With the incredible feedback we received from those in attendance, we look forward to a return engagement next year,” Golub said.