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Guest artist visits from musicians give students a chance to join in the music making

3/24/2010 11:54:00 AM

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Silk Road Ensemble musician Wu Tong performs on the sheng, a Chinese mouth organ, for students at JHS 185

3/24/2010 11:54:00 AM

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Students at the Young Women's Leadership School of Brooklyn display "indigo notebooks" they created to record their impressions during the year

3/24/2010 11:55:00 AM

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Indigo expert Jenny Balfour-Paul and Silk Road Project Artistic Director Yo-Yo Ma meet with teachers and administrators at PS161 at the outset of the year

3/24/2010 11:55:00 AM

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Professional fiber artist Linda LaBelle prepares an indigo dye vat as part of her guest artist visit at PS161

3/24/2010 11:55:00 AM

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Students at Frederick Douglass Academy III just before dyeing their fabric samples

3/24/2010 11:56:00 AM

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A close-up look at the indigo dye vat in use

3/24/2010 11:56:00 AM

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Students at PS161 rinsing their indigo-dyed fabric samples

3/24/2010 11:56:00 AM

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On indigo dyeing day, students dress for the occasion in their own indigo-dyed blue jeans — their personal connections with this ancient dye

3/24/2010 11:57:00 AM

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Drumming at East Bronx Academy for the Future

3/24/2010 11:57:00 AM

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Students pass around an oud during an in-class demonstration at JHS 185

3/24/2010 11:57:00 AM

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Some classes engage in art projects that reflect their experiences with musical instruments from various parts of the world

3/24/2010 11:58:00 AM

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Silk Road Ensemble visual artist Kevork Mourad's visit engages students with Arabic and Armenian calligraphy and animation

3/24/2010 11:58:00 AM

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At Frederick Douglass Academy III, students throw themselves into their study of Ancient Egyptian burial rituals

3/24/2010 11:58:00 AM

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Silk Road Connect classes visit the "Traveling the Silk Road" exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History, stamping their AMNH passports at Silk Road city checkpoints

3/24/2010 11:59:00 AM

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During visits to the American Museum of Natural History, students take part in trading activities that bring the ancient trade route to life

3/24/2010 12:15:00 PM

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Students create "indigo river timelines" to chart the students' study of the Eastern Hemisphere

3/24/2010 11:59:00 AM

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Students at the Young Women's Leadership School of Brooklyn learn to write in cuneiform

3/24/2010 12:00:00 PM

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Silk Road Ensemble member Cristina Pato plays the Galician bagpipe at East Bronx Academy for the Future

3/24/2010 12:00:00 PM

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A Silk Road Connect partner, National Geographic's Genographic Project reveals to students the migratory paths of their distant ancestors via DNA analysis

3/24/2010 12:00:00 PM

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In connection with their study of ancient patterns of human migration, students at JHS 185 create family trees

3/24/2010 12:00:00 PM

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Damian Woetzel leads teachers in a dance demonstration as part of a workshop focusing on a year-end performance by students

3/24/2010 12:01:00 PM

New York, U.S. – Silk Road Connect Update
March 30, 2010

The pilot year of Silk Road Connect began in five New York City schools in September 2009. Since then, activities in this multidisciplinary educational program for middle school students have given sixth graders opportunities to connect with their studies in new ways through the program's four thematic approaches:

Music, Art and Performance
Guest artists have visited pilot school classrooms to present programs and involve students in several types of creative work, from music making from various regions of the world to calligraphy and animation, from video editing presentations to indigo dyeing workshops.

Origins
Students have submitted DNA samples to National Geographic's Genographic Project, a Silk Road Connect partner, which will analyze them and reveal to students the paths that their ancient ancestors took to migrate across the earth and their connections with one another.

The Silk Road
In addition to studying the historic Silk Road in class, our pilot schools have visited the exhibition "Traveling the Silk Road: Ancient Pathway to the Modern World" and participated in hands-on activities at the American Museum of Natural History.

Indigo
As well as being introduced to indigo through dyeing workshops in the fall semester, classes are following self-guided tours of an "Indigo Trail" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, developing critical thinking skills through detailed observation of visual art.

Year-End Celebration
Renowned ballet dancer Damian Woetzel, who serves with Yo-Yo Ma on the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, is acting as creative director of a celebration that will culminate the first pilot year, to be held in June 2010. The event will give students an opportunity to showcase their year of learning for their peers at other pilot schools and perform alongside the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma.

Participating Artists

Mike Block, cello
April Centrone, percussion, oud
Hadi Eldebek, oud
Richard Gordon, video
Dong-Won Kim, Korean percussion and vocals
Balla Kouyate, balafon
Linda LaBelle, indigo dyeing
Kevork Mourad, visual art
Cristina Pato, Galician bagpipe
Bassam Saba, oud, nay
Wu Tong, sheng

New York, U.S. – Silk Road Connect UpdateMarch 30, 2010

Participating Artists

New York, U.S. – Silk Road Connect Update
March 30, 2010