Senufo Mud Paintings

African mud paintings are a textile art form found in several cultures of West Africa. Participants make their own mud painting by painting on cloth with mud, incorporating traditional symbols and patterns, and using their own unique designs.

A Beautiful Oops

Students get the chance to listen to the story of A Beautiful Oops and explore a variety of arts materials to create their own masterpieces!

Chilean Rainsticks

La Música de la Naturaleza—The Music of Nature. Inspired by the legends of indigenous Chileans who create rain sticks to encourage rainy weather; students create an adapted version of the original cactus root rain stick.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Based on the techniques of well-known author and illustrator Eric Carle, participants create their own “hungry caterpillar.” Students practice the technique of painting with color and texture and use cut up paintings and collage to design a caterpillar.

Fairy Tale Self-Portraits

Students use fairy tales as the backdrop to create their own self-portrait using mixed media.

Bizarro Picasso Masks

Participants gain a deeper understanding of the master artist by exploring some of Pablo Picasso’s cubist portraits. Students then create large paper masks with abstract and exaggerated features, combining Picasso’s style with their own creativity.

Paper Molas

Drawing inspiration from traditional Central American fabric molas, students will create their own by using paper and layering techniques.

Torn Paper Landscapes

Colorado’s amazing landscapes and rock formations become the backdrop to this workshop. Students will tear and layer papers to create a different type of landscape representation.

Animal Puppets

Corn Husk Dolls

In this workshop, participants explore what life was like for children in pioneer times. Students learn that there was little time for play, and children on the prairie made their own toys. Participants make their own corn husk dolls using fabric scraps, ribbons and buttons for clothing.

Van Gogh’s Starry Night

Students learn about Vincent Van Gogh by creating a painting similar to his masterpiece Starry Night. Oil pastels and watercolors aid students in creating their own version of the painting.

Yes, and... Comedy Improvisation

Participants take part in a variety of theatre and improvisation games. From partner improvs to group improvs, everyone gets a chance to play.  Students develop self-confidence, learn about comic timing, and strengthen cooperation and listening skills.

Drama Sampler

Tailored to each age group, this workshop of theatre games, improvisation, pantomime, and movement serves as a drama overview to stimulate imagination and encourage vocal and physical creativity. From tongue twisters to team-building games, participants learn skills and techniques used in the world of acting.

Interactive Storytelling

Characters, settings, problems, and solutions make up the basic elements of stories. Using familiar folk and fairy tales, students identify and discuss these elements and then work in small groups to create and present their own stories.

Swashbuckling

Learn how actors create those stage and scene battles without pain! Students learn the simple terms and techniques for hand-to-hand stage combat, as well as introductory fencing techniques.

Shakespeare’s Stage (Grades 4-5)

“All the world’s a stage!” Participants explore Shakespeare’s world in this acting workshop that combines literature with the performing arts. Fun tongue twisters from Hamlet, fairy scenes from A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream, and acting games give participants a brief look at this famous playwright. Discover creative Shakespearean phrases and ease the understanding of Shakespeare’s dialogue through a trivia game and original comedic radio play based on six of Shakespeare’s works.

Playmaking (Grades K-5)

Participants are introduced to acting concepts and terminology through a series of creative activities. Students are then selected to become actors in an adapted version of one of the plays listed below. Given costumes, props, and few simple lines, participants magically bring each story to life.

Plays available for this workshop include:

● Journey to Treasure Island (Grades 3-5) - Red, the Pirate Queen is the villain in this play in which pirates maneuver to take over the ship and find the buried treasure. This humorous take on the classic tale filled with student-produced sound effects including pirates’ laughter, the pirates’ “ditty” and the wail of a ghost.

● Hansel and Gretel’s Fairy Tale Adventure (Grades K-5) - This workshop combines a variety of fairy tales including: Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, The Gingerbread Man, and The Three Little Pigs as Hansel and Gretel set out on an interactive adventure including favorite characters from classical children’s literature.

● Inspired by Where the Wild Things Are (Grades PreK-3) - Students learn more about Max, the main character and his journey to meet the Wild Things.

Bucket Drumming

In this workshop, participants learn how to create rhythms and different sounds using paint buckets and their imaginations. The class explores all of the sonic possibilities of a simple and common object.

Drumming Journey

Music through rhythm is explored from many different continents including: Africa, Europe, and Asia. Each region’s rhythm and music is tied into what we hear today in America, including: jazz, classical, military, folk, country, and rock by hands-on play with percussion instruments.

Creative Movement

Participants explore rhythm and music while developing gross motor skills in this fun and up-beat workshop. Participants find ways to express themselves through music and speak through movement.

Participation plays are lively and humorous adaptation of well-known stories performed by our professional actors with assistance from members of your group! All participation plays include simple props and costumes to help the story come alive.

Choose from these stories:

• A Christmas Carol
• Alice in Wonderland
• James and the Giant Peach

Award-winning performance Artist Lorenzo J. Ramirez, Artistic Director of Grupo Folklórico Sabor Latino, takes students on journey back to ancient Mexico to experience the traditions, history and splendor of the Azteca people.

Presented in full elaborate ceremonial uniform with natural instruments, Lorenzo provides participants with an engaging, interactive and educational experience of this unique indigenous culture.

Participants learn the “alphabet” of African hand drums that form basic sounds to create the language of drums.

Participants then learn to play traditional patterns used to communicate using these sounds and learn about African culture and how significant it is to the daily life of its people.

This vibrant and energetic performance, based on the drumming traditions of West Africa, takes its audience on a rhythmic journey from Africa to the New World and back. The dynamics of the music gives the ensemble its name. “Kusogea” is a word in Ki-Swahili that means “to move.” “Nobi'' is a word indigenous to the world that means “people.” Kusogea Nobi moves people—it is virtually impossible to remain still during this performance!

The sound of an authentic Taiko drum leads this exploration through Japanese culture. Costumes, Japanese folktales, percussion instruments, and the booming Taiko drum come together to immerse students in ancient Japanese art forms.

Yesterado is a one hour long performance featuring a light-hearted glimpse at Colorado history. Real-life traveling entertainers Jack Langrishe and Marietta Ravel are reimagined as a sort of goofy, time-travel welcome wagon committee, taking you back in time and giving you a glimpse of Colorado in the 1890s. To deepen your students’ learning, please ask about accompanying workshops that complement Yesterado.