June 7: Sweet Cherie at Patterson Elementary School

Go-go performer Sweet Cherie led a Teach the Beat workshop with preschoolers in Ms. Lester’s class at Patterson Elementary School. She began the workshop by asking the children how much they knew about go-go music and talking to them about Chuck Brown and the origins of go-go music. Sweet Cherie passed out drums, tambourines, cowbells, and maracas to the students. Excited, they immediately began to play their instruments.

Sweet Cherie did call and response exercises with the students and played the song “Sardines and Pork ‘n Beans” with them. She taught them about the role of the “talker” and the importance of drums in go-go music. One young girl had such a great sense of rhythm that Sweet Cherie would always call on her for the base beat. Many students took turns on the keyboard, some expressing that they wanted one for themselves.

To their delight, Sweet Cherie played the Nae-Nae song on her keyboard for the preschoolers and they danced and continued to play their instruments. The students happily exclaimed “Thank you for the music!” at the end of the session. They all said that they wanted her to come back and do more sessions with them. The visit was funded by the office of the Chief of the Schools of DCPS.