TEACH GO GO
OVERVIEW | CLASSROOM VISITS | HOSTING A VISIT | LESSONS | SEMINARS
OVERVIEW
Teach the Beat is an initiative to ensure that DC area students learn the rich history and the various stylistic elements related to the Go-Go music genre, drawing on the vast array of performers in D.C., scholars, and the experience of teachers who grew up with Go-Go. The goal is to catalyze the art and history of Go-Go as a pedagogical tool for all (upper elementary, middle and high school) music and social studies teachers.
Teach the Beat is coordinated by Teaching for Change and the authors of The Beat. In partnership with DC Public Schools and with support from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and individual donors, the focus is to provide the support that music and social studies teachers need to effectively infuse Go-Go into the curriculum, using five components:
Collect and share digital oral histories and lessons from teachers who already incorporate go-go in the classroom to inspire and inform others
Professional development institute for DC area music and social studies teachers
Coaching sessions by go-go performers for music teachers
Support for social studies classes on oral history collection
Sharing selected interviews conducted by students of musicians and school staff on Go-Go.
PROGRAM SPECIALIST
Matt Miller
Matt Miller joins the Teach the Beat program as a multi-genre musician, performer, recording artist, songwriter, actor, arts educator, and youth mentor from Washington, D.C. Miller’s career has been dedicated to entertaining and educating through the arts.
Miller performs on stage as SwampGuinee with his band Crank LuKongo, described as “Afro Go-Go Roots Music.” Crank LuKongo and Miller’s music production were nominated for WAMMIE Awards for Best Go-Go Album and Best Go-Go Artist/Group in 2019. Miller has served as music director for “Life Stories” with the Theatre Lab at New Beginnings, a National Endowment of Arts & Humanities funded program for youth rehabilitation through the Department of Youth and Rehabilitation Services in D.C.
In 2014, Matt was featured in WETA’s critically acclaimed documentary, “Washington D.C. in the 80’s,” which received an award by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for Best Outstanding Historical Documentary by the National Chesapeake Bay Chapter. In 2017, Matt was selected to serve as a panelist on the “What is Native D.C.” platform for the 2017 Annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Today, Matt continues to create cultural arts enrichment initiatives and provides group workshops and masterclasses.
Matt’s most memorable go-go experiences include being a teenager in the 80’s and going to the Washington Coliseum for go-go competitions where there would be five to six of the city’s top go-go bands performing at their highest level. According to Matt, “I enjoyed being able to see the unique styles of each band and being able to hear what made them distinct.” These shows would cost no more than $6. There would be thousands of teens and young adults in attendance. Matt notes, “Many of our parents wouldn’t allow us to attend these shows. I was allowed to go to parties and because I lived nearby I was able to walk to and from the venue with my friends.” Go-go was very much for the younger generations, so telling parents they were going to parties and then heading to concerts was part of the mystique of this genre.