Teach the Beat!

Bringing the distinctive D.C. sound of go-go into the classroom.

Teaching for Change is honored to work with D.C.  area schools and the authors of The Beat! Go-Go Music from Washington, D.C. to develop lessons and share teaching ideas for infusing the history and music of go-go in middle and high school social studies, language arts, math, music, and/or D.C. history classes, and to bring renowned go-go performers into D.C. classrooms.

"Go-go has stayed true to time-honored cultural scripts such as live call-and-response, live instrumentation, as well as its locally rooted fashions, slang, dance, distribution and economic systems. Simply put: Go-Go never sold out. There is a grit and texture to the music that gives voice to the communities where it was created." –Natalie Hopkinson

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April 30th and May 3rd: Sweet Cherie is Back at Two Rivers

“This was one of the highlights of our school year - thank you!”
— Amanda Silverstein, Two Rivers teacher

Sweet Cherie rocked 5th-grade classes at both Two Rivers campuses again this spring! Students were enamored with Sweet Cherie and blown away by her workshop facilitation. Immersing them in a makeshift go-go in their classrooms, Sweet Cherie broke down the origins and fundamentals of go-go music, her time playing with the godfather of go-go, Chuck Brown, and the elements of a go-go. Students beamed when Sweet Cherie called their name and gave them eight counts to “do their dance,” like a talker does at a go-go.  

Silverstein shared:

The kids had so much fun and were excited for someone important to visit them and teach them things! They definitely appreciated having someone to look up to who is from D.C. I am going to encourage more students to go to formal and informal music events, especially go-go! Many students were excited and commented things like "I have seen her before!" or "I love that band!" or "I can't believe she is here!" One of them even said, "This is the best day of my life."

April 19: JuJu and National Cathedral School (NCS) Bring Down the House

National Cathedral School (NCS) Diversity Forum 2023: MYdentity

With a special invitation by the National Cathedral School (NSC), JuJu House facilitated two Teach the Beat sessions as part of the school’s Diversity Forum 2023: MYdentity day. The annual Diversity Forum is a culmination of the school’s year-long engagement exploring themes of diversity in depth. This year’s forum connected students with local organizations throughout the D.C. metro area, exposing them  to experiences and history throughout the region. 

In two sessions, founding teaching artist JuJu House and Teaching for Change deputy director Keesha Ceran connected with NCS students on the history and foundational sounds of go-go. Through a brief orientation utilizing Go-Go Sound of Summer, a collaboration between DC Public Library and Teach the Beat, students became familiar with the pocket and bounce beats of go-go. With an intimate class setting of no more than 20 students, the young girls of NCS created their own bands, replicating the different beats they were learning. One by one, each student overcame a bit of shyness and drummed, tapped, shook, or clapped to the beat. 

The sense of support was palpable. When a student became intimidated or forgot the beat, peers in the audience maintained the cadence for them to jump back in. 

JuJu balanced various methods of teaching, offering opportunities for the classes to watch or listen to different go-go songs, connecting the genre’s deep influence within the music industry. For example, JuJu informed students how go-go influenced Amarie’s One Thing and Beyonce’s Crazy In Love. One song with go-go ties that JuJu shared threw associate director Ceran into a loop. Did you know that Nelly’s Hot in Herre samples Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers’ Bustin’ Loose?! Check out Ceran’s reaction in this tweet thread

In thank you notes received following the forum, students and staff at NCS expressed how much they thoroughly enjoyed the experience and were grateful for the time spent with JuJu and learning more about the official music of D.C. 

Feb 15: Capital City Go-Go Education Day Game

On Wednesday, February, 15, 2023, thousands of young people and teachers across the D.C. metro area filled the Entertainment & Sports Arena at St. Elizabeth’s East, home of the Washington Mystics and the Capital City Go-Go. On this day, these thousands of attendees were present for the Go-Go’s Education Day Game so that D.C. area students could learn and engage with the rich history and the various stylistic elements related to the go-go music genre. 

Teach the Beat teaching artist, Devin Walker, of The Uncle Devin Show, showcased go-go music along with his team, which included Matt “Swamp Guinee” Miller, teaching artist and former program specialist for Teach the Beat! Throughout the 90-minute experience, The Uncle Devin Show performed on an elevated platform, participated in a halftime experience, and signed autographs for students and teachers. 

 

Teach the Beat hosted our Go-Go Gallery Walk to engage students in exploring go-go history using text and instruments. Our D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice (DCAESJ) team was also present, amplifying Black Lives Matter at School and connecting with educators to participate in activities hosted by the network throughout the school year. 

View Photos

Capital City Go-Go Education Day Game_ February 15, 2023
 

February 13: Swamp Guinee at Seaton ES

 

Athena Kopsidas welcomed Teach the Beat back to Seaton ES (DCPS) in February as part of the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action this year. During a session with the upper elementary classes, students shared with associate director, Keesha Ceran, one student shared, “This week we celebrate school spirit and Black Lives Matter.”

Matt “Swamp Guinee” Miller facilitated the two visits with students in the school cafeteria, leading students through interactive lessons on different percussive instruments used in go-go. After sharing a brief history of go-go music, Miller introduced the school to his “friends”  — musical instruments. Students were instructed to guess if you shake, scrape, or strike each instrument. As students became acclimated to the different instruments, Miller taught students a few beats that they practiced at the cafeteria tables before the “Seaton Elementary School Hot Fire Bees go-go groups” performed on stage with Miller. Students and staff alike created the go-go beats they had learned. The rhythmic sounds transformed Seaton’s cafeteria into its own go-go with students and adults beating their feet. 

At the conclusion of their last session, Miller gifted the school one of his drums, thanking Seaton educators for their great efforts in educating the students and the high energy the students brought to these sessions. 

Kopsidas shared,

Everything was great! We have a number of students who are non-verbal and who participated fully — on stage! They were so enthusiastic and engaged!

Read about last year’s visit at Seaton ES

 

Feb 10: Swamp Guinee at Seaton ES

Athena Kopsidas welcomed Teach the Beat back, this time for a series of visits where all students were able to participate in an assembly-style visit. These visits were scheduled in conjunction with the D.C. area’s Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action 2023. Kospidas attended the DCAESJ planning meeting in January of this year, and she noted that this was one of the ways Seaton was participating in the Week of Action this year. During a session with the upper elementary classes, students shared with deputy director, Keesha Ceran, what the week – Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action – meant and why we celebrate it. One student stated, “This week we celebrate school spirit and Black Lives matter.”

Meeting in the school’s cafeteria, Matt “Swamp Guinee” Miller facilitated the two visits with students through interactive lessons on different percussive instruments used in go-go. After sharing a brief history of go-go music, Miller introduced the school to his “friends” – musical instruments -  and students guessed if you should shake, scrape, or strike the instrument. As students became acclimated to the different instruments, Miller taught students a few beats that they practiced at the cafeteria tables before the Seaton Elementary School Hot Fire Bees go-go groups performed on stage with Miller. Students and staff alike created the go-go beats they had learned. The rhythmic sounds transformed Seaton’s cafeteria into its own go-go with students and adults beating their feet. 

At the conclusion of their last session, Miller gifted the school one of his drums, thanking Seaton educators for their great efforts in educating the students and the high energy the students brought to these sessions. 

Kopsidas shared: 

Everything was great! We have a number of students who are non-verbal and who participated fully, on stage! They were so enthusiastic and engaged!

Read about last year’s visit at Seaton ES

February 9: Sweet Cherie at Simon ES

 

Thanks for coming to my birthday party!” — Stephanie Howell

All Teach the Beat visits are special, but serenading a beloved teacher with a go-go version of the birthday song only compounds the joy! Stephanie Howell, a native Washingtonian whose parents met at a Chuck Brown show in 1972 also happened to be celebrating a birthday the day Sweet Cherie facilitated a visit with K-3rd grade students at Simon ES (DCPS).

In addition to learning about the history and fundamentals of go-go, each child got a chance to play an improvised tune on Sweet Cherie’s bedazzled keyboard. They danced when they heard their names called by the talker, just like at a go-go.

The students surprised Cherie by already having a response to when she asks, “Wh- wh- wh- where you from?!” to which they shouted, “D.C.!”

 

Feb 8: Black Lives Matter at School Go-Go Visit with Capital City Go-Go

Teach the Beat was excited to be invited to join The Capital City Go-Go team and staff on Wednesday, February 8, during Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action to showcase the official music of D.C. 

Teaching for Change Associate Director, Keesha Ceran, opened the session with the Go-Go by highlighting the purpose of Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action and celebrating the experiences happening in classrooms throughout not only the DMV, but also nationally. She raised how Teach the Beat uplifts the Black Lives Matter at School principles of Intergenerational, Black Villages, and Unapologetically Black.  

Before engaging with the beats, Ceran encouraged the Capital City Go-Go team and staff to participate in the Teach the Beat Gallery Walk. Participants of the Gallery Walk reviewed images that highlight go-go’s history throughout the D.C. metro area. As they reviewed these images, they wrote down on post-it notes the themes and elements that rose up  for them. For example, when reviewing the musical influences of go-go music, one player noted, “Funk is a creative umbrella that many other great forms of music tie into. Diversity in music introduces diversity in culture.” Another wrote, “[Funk music] helped modernize go-go music through different genres like soul, gospel, and pop.  Another theme participants reviewed was go-go’s influence on politics. One comment noted, “The community found a way to build go-go culture through politics.” 

Following the Gallery Walk, the Go-Go players and staff were introduced to Teach the Beat founding teaching artist, JuJu! JuJu opened his session featuring clips of Go-Go Sound of Summer, grounding the team in learning the breakdown of the different beats of go-go music – the pocket, the socket, and the bounce. 

As the session continued, JuJu brought up different volunteers to form their own go-go band, to play together, and create the unique sounds of go-go music. 

Since 2018, Teaching for Change’s D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice (DCAESJ) has hosted the D.C. area activities for Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action and Year of Purpose. The goal of Black Lives Matter at School is to encourage ongoing critical reflection, honest conversations, and action for people of all ages in school communities to work towards building schools where Black lives matter. The campaign takes place in cities across the United States to promote a set of national demands based on the Black Lives Matter guiding principles.

February 7: Sweet Cherie at Washington International School

 

During a middle school assembly, there wasn’t an empty seat in Washington International School’s theater  — unless the students and teachers were up dancing to Sweet Cherie’s music!

Lauren Wright, middle school humanities teacher, shared that this wasn’t the first time the school experienced Sweet Cherie. Many saw her at the Kennedy Center family programming in March of 2022, and they just knew they had to have her facilitate a visit to their school!

With this visit, Cherie dove deeper into the history of go-go, speaking to students about the different sub-genres and their many bands. Students asked Cherie how long she’d been a musician, what inspired the name for her all-women’s band Be’la Dona, and how well she knew Chuck Brown.

Middle schoolers, often shy to dance and participate in group activities, rushed to the theater’s center so they could dance along with Sweet Cherie when she wrapped the session and dismissed them to enjoy the rest of their school day!

Wright shared:

THANK YOU! We had a great time, and I got tons of great feedback from the kids.

 
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