February 23: Sweet Cherie and Juju House at Simon ES
The Teach the Beat team jammed with Simon Elementary School again this year but touched a much bigger audience this go around! During a classroom visit at the school — around this time last year — Liz Bolston and her class were enthralled by the musical teachings and stylings of Sweet Cherie. They shared in the year since, they STILL use call and response and other pieces they learned with Sweet Cherie that day. In her request for a visit this year, Bolston shared:
The students still talk about our experience last school year. We still do call and response: “Wh- wh- wh- where you from?" and listen to go go during transitions. I would love to have all the students at Simon ES be able to experience go-go and Sweet Cherie.
Request granted!
Bolston’s wish was for more Simon students to experience a visit. Luckily, a schoolwide program celebrating local celebrities — including Markus Batchelor and VP of WMATA Jewel Bell – was a perfect opportunity for Teach the Beat’s co-founding teaching artists to co-facilitate an assembly-style visit for all of the school. Sweet Cherie and Juju brought down the house, introducing the fundamentals of go-go, including call and response, the names of iconic go-go groups, the Lock It dance, and so much more!
After the visit, they shared:
Teach the Beat is amazing! Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to come to Simon and workshop with our students! It was wonderful having you there. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
See all photos from this visit.
Read about Simon ES’s Teach the Beat visit in 2023.