Benkadi

Benkadi is an art and culture program bringing African drums and dance to the classroom along with world class instructors and performers. What is so unique about Benkadi?

Cultural diversity: Benkadi goes beyond music and dance and is a program where the students are immersed in the culture of West Africa through discussions of music, dance, and cultural traditions. In today's society the understanding of African culture and heritage is often very limited and biased. African culture is not accepted as a mainstream culture as the western is. Benkadi aims to change that by providing a positive experience of African culture and insights into what it means to be of African heritage.

Relatable: African rhythm is at the heart of popular music and is therefore very relatable for young people which translates into more active and continued engagement on their part.

Accessible: The West African drumming and dance are very low barrier-to-entry activities compared to more traditional western music and dance forms. With only 10 hours of instruction of hand drumming the students are able to perform in a group setting. This provides positive reinforcement of their efforts and they are motivated to continue working on their music and dance skills and expand their knowledge.

Mental Health and Cognitive Development: Drum and dance is proven to be reducing anxiety and depression. They have a positive influence on the development of cognitive skills in children.Our classes get students moving and are fun.

Unique Educators: Benkadi's programming is led by five educators who come from diverse West African backgrounds. They all share exceptional resumes as professional artists and educators. Most have decades of experience working across the globe both as performers and instructors. They have been part of high profile creative projects such as popular Disney shows.

Testimonials

Please see our short video to find out what our students think about their experience with Benkadi Program https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSw_YEyjMuM