catching up!

This has been a busy year for sure! It has been fun and rewarding to get to participate and be part of our community through so many events. Every performance thus far has been different. They have all been fun and exciting. Its always really nice to get to meet new people.

The Procession of Little Angels was so much. Seeing all our kids in purple... literally purple! was so cool. Like every "gig" we had our moments, But all in all we all had such a fun time. Having our Jovert mentors there is always a blessing.

FAME at the Children's Museum was a blast for sure! Who else gets to say they have paraded through the museum and made noise?! Not many people. The kids played so well and they got the the crowd going.

Purplelight Vigil was an event that we will most remember. To be appart of a community that honors those that have passed on due to health. Its a great way to show the kids how music touches people lifes. That why they are playing is making a difference in a life.

JOVERT MENTORS: We have had our mentors coming in to work with the students. They have truly become a part of the CCS family.  Just the simple fact that some of the our mentors show up to our CCS performances ready to be a part of the group and play some music.

Coming up we have Winter Solistice at the Childrens Museum.
Stuff the Hummers at Sullivans steak house

All are welcomed to join us at these events. You never know when we will need soem extra shakers....

Show Time!!

Time really does fly when you're having fun. C.C.S has so many fun events coming up. Starting with Tucson Meet yourself/ Festival of Schools. We have been hard at work learning new breaks, rhythms, and songs. One of which was written by our very own director Mr. Alfie.

Richard Noel, band leader of Sticks and Fingers a local group and board member of Tucson Meet Yourself,  came to teach and work with our group. He taught us a fun Caribbean rhythm. Richard has invited C.C.S. to join him for a Caribbean Parade at this year's Tucson Meet Yourself. The parade will take place on Saturday October 15th @ 7:00pm followed by a performance at the Tucson Convention Center, with C.C.S. joining in on the finale.

That is not all that C.C.S. is participating in the Festival of Schools being held during Tucson Meet Yourself Event On Saturday October 15th @ 1:55. We will be performing on the TUSD stage by the TCC Arena, C.C.S. will be particticing in the Move Your Body flash workout and finish up with a performance.

The following week we will putting on a fun performance at the Tucson Childrens Museum. The performance will take place on Sunday October 23rd at 1:00pm. This is the 3rd time C.C.S has been invited to participate in an event at the Museum. The kids are really excited to go back!

Besides rehearsing for upcoming performances. Our kids have started working on our new belt systems. Most of the kids have already earned their white belts. We are really proud of them for working really hard. In order to earn a belt, the students show responsibility by bringing their materials to weekly rehearsals, they participate and work on music provided by Mr. Alfie, our younger group shows they have learned a dance taught by Ms. Lupe.

Its brings us great joy to annouce that C.C.S. grows more and more each week. We are up to almost 50 students signed up. So exciting to know that kids are really enjoying what we are doing.

We invite you all to come out and support our kids as well as join in all the fun!!

http://rdnoel.com/about/bio/
 http://www.tucsonmeetyourself.org/
http://www.childrensmuseumtucson.org/

New faces

This.week was great. The Jovert mentors did such a great job this week. The kids really welcomed them in. It really is adding yet one more element to Cub club Samba. It has been our vision from the.beginning to get to work with others in the community. This also shows and teaches the samba kids to work with other musicians in the community.

With all the fun exciting things going on we have 3 weeks to prepare for our first gig. We have some staple samba songs with some new flare added as well as some new beats that will make your hearts dance.

We hope to see you all on October 15th at Tucson Meet Yourself/festival of schools @ 1:50 on the TUSD stage!

We Challenge

It's been a good week of Samba. Having shorter schools, has allowed us to have more Samba time with the kids. The time has been spent presenting new things, working on music and challenging the kids.

This week both groups received a music folder. Something that we are doing differently this time, is we are using a similar ranking system. With this system the students are learning how to read music. So they now have the tools to learn music both by listening to it but also by being able to read notes on a paper. Of course they each got a different song with different rhythms.
They all looked pretty excited.

We have also challenged our students to show more respect, responsiblilty and caring then usual. The challenge that was given to them was that when they get picked up or dropped off they will greet that person with a smile, a thank you and a hug. Show apprecitiation and gratitude for their loved ones.

WorkingWith others

Many times you have heard us we love to work withthose in the community. It is in honor for all of us at cubclubsamba to have members of the steel drum group Jovert from Tucson High School come and mentor our samba kids. This will be great learning experience for everyone. LetsWelcome these high school students with open arms . :-)

Thank you

first and foremost we would like to thank our dedicated Samba parents for all of their support . For believing in our program and investing your time. Today we held our first ever parenting and gave a lot of information. If you look to the bottom left of our page you will find a list of performances. We have had the honor to have been invited to all of the different events through out Tucson. Keep checking back for more up dates. :) Today, we felt our drums beat as one . It was such and amazing feeling to feel and hear all the alfias hit one note at once .they are currently learning how to.playlist Maracatu and it sounds powerful and amazing .

Let the fun begin!

This Tuesday, September 6th at 6:30pm we will be holding a parent information meeting! All interested in learning more about Samba are in invited. We have a lot of great things to share with everyone! 

With two weeks of Samba under our belt we are really looking forward to this year. Our main performance group being our 3rd -5th grade group has many returning faces but is also filled with new ones. We have so many kids this year we are looking into getting more drums. It's really a blessing to see how music reaches children of all ethnic backgrounds. 

Our younger group made up of kinder-2nd graders, has been such a joy to teach. This group does 1 hour of dance and 45 mins of drums. It surprises me every time at how fast they pick up what they are taught. It blows our minds! 

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SAMBA TIME

The last two days have been so much fun. The two groups were a joy to work with. So many new faces!

This year we are trying something a little different. Our older group, 3rd-5th grade, do Samba on Tuesday and Thursday and our younger group, Kinder-2nd grade, do Samba on Wednesday. This way each group get the focus they need and all the different sections get the attention they need.

First day of Samba was a little crazy, but picked up and ended with a BAM! It always great to see just how much kids remember even after a few weeks break. Our older group is the primary instrument group. This year they have about  5-6 songs that they will be learning, one of which is being written and composed by the wonderful directors :-) Our younger is mainly our dance group. Today they got to learn the dance to Magdalenha as well as had the opportunity to start learning the basic Samba Reggae rhythm on the instruments. They are all really excited to get started.

Seeing how many kids are interested in joining the group this year just pushes us even more. Each time we start we question whether or not we should continue and if kids will be interested and without fail kids show up. I am not sure about Alfie but for me its so much fun to work with the little ones. Especially Kindergartners. They get super excited to learn something new.

All in all Samba has started on a great note. WE couldnt have asked fora better group. They are all talented in their own way.

Summer ...To another year.

In Lak'ech

You are my other me
if i do harm to you
I do harm to myself
If I love and respect you
I love and respect myself

This poem was the main focus of our summer. Teaching the students that by loving and respecting others you love and respect yourself. We will continue to focus on this during the school year.

It was wonderful to to teach the students something that has a lot of meaning to it. And for them to not just learn the poem in English but in the Mayan language as well. Our hope was that by the time summer was over they would have grown a little and would know what life is about. That its not always about themselves but about those around us in our lives.

This summer was also a busy summer. With Mr. Alfie preparing for his audition to the Berklee College of Music, our Samba Group prepared to put on a show at a fundraiser to help Alfie raise funds. They learned new rhythms and breaks. Best of all two of our very own came up with their own Loopie Break. It was such a proud moment for us both to see them work on something and see it come to life.

It was also a growing and learning experience for both of us. Learning how to approach the students what works and what doesn't. Learning to listen to them more and take what they say more seriously. Kids are full of life and have many great ideas. Their input is greatly valued.

As we get ready to start the school year our Samba calendar is starting to fill up! Its so exciting to know that what just started as a fun little group is becoming well known throughout the community. THese kids really deserve it. they work really hard. Most people do not realize that they practice almost every day for over an hour sometimes two. And for the most part they do it with a smile on their faces. haha

We look forward to growing and working closely with the Samba group. To continue to bring the joy of music to our community. To work together as one.

We invite to join us for a fun ride this year!

Thank You

 

First and foremost thank you to all of our families for all of their continued support and dedication to our Samba Group. We say this a lot but it is the truth, we couldn't have done so much and have been so successful it wasn't for our awesome samba families. We often sit and reflect on all that has happened. As directors with a small idea its mind blowing to know all that we have done and how much we have done in our community.  Never in our wildest dreams did we think we would have performed at soo many places and that people would receive us with open arms and actually like we have to offer.

 

This of course would not have happened without our kids. These kids have given up their time playing out on the play ground with their friends to spend hours and hours rehearsing and learning new things. They showed up to every performance excited and ready to play. Even giving up their Saturdays. We couldn't have asked for a better group this year. It is only the beginning and we have a lot of the kids returning next year and during the summer. We have 7 students leaving us and we are sad to see them go but hope that they will return to us to play again.

 

Our vision does not stop here, our vision is to continue to work with the community. To help those need. To bring happiness to those around us. It is our dream to be able to work with students from k-12. To keep inspiring them and to keep working to teach them respect and responsibility. To teach them how to .love one another, their community and their loved ones.

 

Just because this school year is coming to an end. Does not mean that Samba is coming to an end. If anything it is the beginning of a new chapter.

 

Thank you again to our families our friends and most of all our Samba KIDS!!

SO much happening.

For the last several weeks, even months, our group has been busy busy with rehearsing, learning new breaks, rhythms, dance moves etc... Since the beginning of the school, the idea was that we would put on a performance for our deticated families and friends. A showcase sort of speak. The planning began a date was chosen and thus Cinco de Mayo Music festival was born. At first our group was the only group performance, but in the middle of it all classes joined and signed on to peformance with us. The students are very excited! We selected what we all think are fun songs, songs that will lift people up. That speak about everyone coming together as one.

It is important to teach the value of working together as a community. Of working with others and sharing that music is a universal language that all can relate to. The students, teachers and parents all seem excited for this event.

Not going to lie and say this has all been easy. Nothing in life is easy, you have to work extra hard and fight to be heard. We have of course been blessed with talented kids! People in our city and community of them, and have loved them. SO much so that they have been asked to perform all over tucson at different events. The kids love it!!!

Our vision is hope is to keep bringing people together through our music, drive and heart!

Crazy but sure to be magical!

We”ve been called crazy many times, but this time crazy fits this group pretty well. Well the directors anyway! Now this isn’t an insult at all.. We have been known to come up with some pretty out there ideas.  Most of the time we get the “Um if you say so “  look.  This time though we have a lot of support behind us.  These next 3 weeks are going to be crazy!!  We normally rehearse with our Samba kids Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.  But with our crazy ideas, we will also be working with,  two 5^th grade classes, two 4^th grade classes, a 2^nd grade class and two exceptional ed classes..   Crazy Right?  It might be for others, but for these two crazy directors that come up with crazy ideas it’s a dream!! Getting the opportunity to share the magic of music is truly a blessing. 

What started off as a small evening performance for the parents and families of Cub Club Samba has now turned into a full on music festival. The event will feature different types of music and styles.  As well as an amazing play that was written by teachers in our Primary Ex Ed class. It seriously is going to be a night to remember.


Even our program director thinks we're nuts! Bringing in all these classes. Plus having water added to one of the songs! Yes you heard right! Our very own version of water drums! The kids are really excited to add this to mix! 


We invite all of you to come join us for our Cinco De Mayo celebration! 

Brazilian,
African,
Bob Marley
Glee
Shairka
K'Naan & David Bisbal


AHH just thinking about it makes the heart race!


Rehearsals for the next three weeks are going to be fantastic! Stressful yes, difficult maybe..but rewarding and a great learning experience!

Let the challenge begin!

No one ever said teaching kids would be easy.  It’s fun and at the end of each rehearsal we are blown away. That’s not to say that we don’t get challenged.  The kids challenge us often, but every so often they thrown down a challenge of their own.  This past Wednesday for example, we were rehearsing outside.  The older kids were learning a new version of Samba Reggae while the younger kids were learning a new dance.  During rehearsal time the older kids started to whine and complain. They weren’t listening and just kept going on and on. Finally, the dance director said “While you guys were busy complaining the dancers learned entire new dance and went over it several times”  Of course that started a match! The older kids didn’t think the dancers would be able to learn what they were playing.  Of course that just set up the challenge.  The challenge was that the younger kids would learn whatever was taught and would be excited and pick up quick, while the drummers learned the dance. You can just imagine how excited the dancers were to get to drum! They jumped right in. Strapped on their Surdos (some were almost as big as the kid =) ) and were ready to play. While the drummers decided to go play on the playground… So after several minutes, the dancers where playing the rhythm! It was so great! They listened paid attention and learned! This did not sit well with the drummers. It wasn’t the same rhythm they played so in their eyes it didn’t count. What they weren’t seeing was that it’s so much fun and things get done better if they would just pay attention in the first place and just stop complaining! Needless to say that after that the drummers wanted to show off and ended up playing the correct rhythm with almost perfection!! It was awesome and it sounded great! 

If you want to hear the rhythm they learned and that caused all this you can check it out on our facebook page cubclubsamba

Practice, Practice, Practice!

After 3 days of rehearsals these kids never disappoint. They just amaze us each time. Just when we start to think "will they get it?" They take that thought and flush down the toilet! These kids are truly talented! After today's rehearsal I was so overjoyed! Actually yesterday's rehearsal was pretty amazing! The dancers rehearsed two songs they already knew and learned a new one! These kindergarten through 2nd grade students picked up the steps, practiced on their own and just got it! They had every step down! My heart was full of happiness afterwards! it was exhausted too =)

There is something to be said about drumming! The humming in your ears, the vibrations through your body AMAZING!! The drummers learned a new break and new rhythm and THEY GOT IT!!!! Just the when way you feel not only when you're playing the music but when you're dancing it, AHHH just makes you want to invite every single person you come across to listen!

With all that being said we invite everyone in the community to come and share the excitement and joy that these kids bring us! You really don't want to miss it!!!

Join us at Cyclovia Tucson Sunday March 27th! @ 11:30 am at Mission View Elementary School!

Show TIme

We are entering a time where we will be performing A LOT!! Never in a million years would we have thought that our Samba group would get invited to perform at events throughout the community.  When this group was started, it was mostly to share our love of music with kids, to share the happiness it brings and how it speaks to our inner being.  As directors we have several discussions about what is best for the group. Some of these have included the performances. Others might see and feel that we are pushing the kids, but we strongly believe that our kids have a voice.  That at any point any if the kids say we have too many performances or its too much we will listen.  This however doesn’t seem to be a problem.  Anytime we have asked the group if they would want to perform at a certain event we get an automatic YES! 

Performing in the community is not us trying to “show off”. It is us spreading the magic of music. Yes that might sound silly, but music truly is magic. It lets you express your true feelings; it heals, encourages and provides a positive outlet.

Our group has begun rehearsals to learn even more songs, rhythms, breaks and dance moves.  Every time we add a new element we think “Are they really going to get this? Maybe its to advanced? “Only to be blown away time and time again by how fast they pick things up. It is that hunger and drive that makes it even that more special. 

We are truly blessed to be given such amazing opportunities to share all this and more with our community. We invite you all to come out and support our group.  

Earth Day Celebration: April 30^th @ Tucson’s Children Museum performing at 11:30am

Community Jam : April 26^th @ Columbus Library (corner of 22^nd & Columbus) 4:00-5:30pm

There are two performances still being worked out so check back for those dates and times!

Ago...Ame....

Students often model the behaviors they see. How do we expect students to follow the basic rules when we as adults often times fail to do so ourselves? It's for this reason that we as the adults are going to practice what we preach. Part of the lessons taught through Samba and the most important is respect. To respect those around us and to show respect to our elders, leaders, co workers, and partners. If we as the adults cannot do that how could we expect our students to do the same? We feel very strongly that as role models we need to set positive examples for our students. When we started teaching Samba Reggae to the kids, we started by teaching them a call and repeat Ago…Ame.. This is a way of getting their attention and them showing us they are ready. It is a way of showing respect to their teacher, instructor and leader. Some of our students have also had the opportunity to practice the call and repeat. When they are given the floor to show others something or need to speak.

We also want to show our students how important it is to respect music from different cultures. That just because it does not sound like the music they are used to, it does not mean it is bad music. Having respect for different music is a big piece we’d like to teach our students. To learn how to appreciate music of all types, whether it be Samba, Samba Reggae, or Justin Bieber. Music is made to be respected no matter what part of the world it comes from.

This week we started our Samba lessons. You might think, “Isn’t that what you’ve been doing the whole time?” We started the students off with Samba Reggae. Samba is a little more advanced. We are 100% confident that our students will pick this new music up. That they will enjoy it and grow to love it, It's exciting to see them grow and see how much they love it. The best part of the day is getting the hand full of kids who come and ask “Are we doing Samba today?” “Please can we do Samba?” This is music to our ears!

Sometimes a dream can come true!

Dreams are not just scenes we see in our sleep. Sometimes those dreams are real. How do we know that? Because Cub Club Samba is just the beginning of a dream coming to life. Often times you can have conversations with people around you and think "Oh yeah thats a great
idea" just to walk away and think "That will never happen" and other times you can have those same conversations with someone and they say "you should do it".


Of coure you would need to know someone crazy enough to actually push you to do something you thought you would never do. OR just have a co worker crazy enough to say "Hey lets do a summer talent
show and you should teach the kids what you know."


That is how Cub CLub Samba came to be. THe summer of 2010. A summer program held in a school caferteria decided to put on a small talent show to show case that talent of our tucson kids.
THis was an out of the box kind of thing. THe kids would learn dance and music! Samba Reggae to be exact. No one knew what to expect or how the kids would welcome this type of music and to our
surprise they were excited! They took one look at the shiney drums and they were hooked! To see the excitment in their eyes and how much they liked it was a breath of fresh air. Over several weeks
students from ages 5-13 learned how to play and dance Samba Reggae! We had a guest dancer come in and teach us some amazing brazilian inspired moves. All this and more was featured in our
summer talent show! It was well recieved by the parents and friends who came to watch. Although we don't think they had any idea of just how LOUD this would be =)


After the summer was over, there were no plans to really bring Samba back during the school year.That was until some crazy person saw a post asking for performers to for the Festival of Schools.
Being that the same crazy person was still working for the afterschool program, the idea was broughtup that Cub CLub should perform! WHy not? They sounded great during the summer why couldn't they do
it for this? One thing lead to another and thus Cub Club Samba was offical! We needed a name, many were thrown out there but none fit. The group made up 5-11 year olds practiced and learned.
Parents came along side  and supported us. The first offical appearence of CCS was amazing! The kids did a great job! and a dream to have a music youth group inspired by many cultures was born.


Since then our group has grown from 13 kids to 32!! We have teamed up with others from the community
to share the love of music.


The dream is to build a solid foundation based on respect for one another and for others. To inspire,youth in a positive way. To love one another, our community, our world. We are often inspired by the music
we hear, but we as the adults are most inspired by the those we teach! these kids have inspired us to live our dream and spread the love of music.

We invite you to join us in our journey which has just begun!